davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
Even Sold Drug
To School Children

When the Office OF Or. James King.
alias "Samre Ellis" under which name
he had practiced palmistry. was raided
IN New York, complete dope shop
was disclosed. according to the police.
Ellis was accused OF having peddled
dope 20 people In all walks OF life. In
Guiding school children, to whom he
sold cocain In hollow tops. lie was
also accused OF having supplied drugs
to the prisoners In Sing Sing.
The police discovered in his office a
small memorandum book containing
more than two hundred entries. con-
corning prominent New York society
women, identified with a code sign OPP
poslte each entry. These entries were
complete life histories OF the women
concerned. their characteristics, habits.
morals, financial expectations, and love
AFFAIRS
That even the prisons of the country
hive not been free from the tentacles
niably established. In one OF the big
penitentiaries OF the East after the
Harrison law had made the smuggling
nj dope In It's crystalline form particu-
The attention OF the warden that many
apparently perfectly sane prisoners
would frequently chew up their clear
clothing. Investigation. showed thai
both cocain and morphine in large
| quantities was being introduced into
the starch being used In the prison
laundry.
Upon another occasion minor prison
| official was found peddling dope to the
convicts. using his glass eye as place
| or concea lment
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
Shot Through Heart
By Treasury Agents

When the Treasury agents surprised
him. he drew his gun and opened fire.
He had fired two shots at the officers.
when a single shot fred In return
pierced his heart and killed him in
stantly;
The dope fiends and the dope peddlers
possess an argot all their own. and
which Is not easily understood by the
uninitiated. Cocain Is usually referred
to as snow" and its victims as SNOW
birds" Morphine and heroine are usually
called the stuff
A small package OF cocain is known
as deck" a term probably borrowed
from the opium smokers who called a
small quantity of their particular dFug
deck" because II was usually Sold
smeared on a playing card.
The hypodermic syringe with which
many of the dope fiends take subcutan-
eous injections are called "gats' OF
guns" and referred to In much the
same manner as a gangster would re-
fer to his revolver.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
Agents Found Opium
In $50, 900 Pile

Before very much Of It had gotten out.
however, the revenue agents swooped
down upon 1t. where 1t lay guarded only
by two Chinese women. That lot, worth
Sc. 900, was boiled down and cast into
the city's sewers.
Shortly thereafter a shipment, valued
at $3.50, 900. consisting OF seventy cases of
opium, each cese containing 100 five-tael
cans, destined for another Pacific coast
city, was intercepted on its way from
the Mexican border.
The cleanup in Detroit resulted in
the arrest of woman known as the
Queen of Dopes." She was believed to
have been the head of a gigantic snug
Cling ring whose members were bringing
| in large quantities Of the stun" over
| the Canadian border, concealed In fake
| cigarettes, false memorandum books, and
even in the lining OF neckties,
In Denver. a well-known business man
and his son We're arrested about six
months ago, and the police OF that city
say there followed an astounding reve-
lation as to conditions existing at that
point.
The business man and his son. the mer
| of the law declared, were tho brains
J and the directors of the system. The
drug was put out by distributor. who
walked about the town, slipping the
| ages of cocain are known in the under
! world, into the pockets of sub-agents
| who loitered on street corners, or stood
/ gazing unconcernedly into shop window
while the distribution was taking place
! The .;ub-agents In turn peddled the
i dope either direct. when the victims
were comparatively obscure, or through
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23

servant girls or ladies' maids when
their patrons were OF social prominence.
Payment for the dope was collected from
beneath doormats or from behind vesti-
bule doorways: and II was established
that for cocain valued at 81 a package
this ring was obta ming $50 for the same
amount.
The cache of this opium ring was To-
Gated In an old stable where a numhcr
OF framed lithogra phs depicting the cruel
ixlon and scenes from the life OF the
Christ had been stored, and huge guam
titles of narcotics were found between
these pictures and the backs OF the
on Mey II last. when Philadelphia was
! cleaned up, 1900 heroin pills. a diamond
| studded opium pipe and layout. and a
quantity of other drugs was taken from
the headquarters OF the ring.
] Shortly afterward the "House of n
Thousand Dreams" as fat In Mime
apolis was known. was visited End N.so
ROBBERY. were confscated.
In New York city Treasury agents
| les rned that the office OF a certain
dentist was becoming unusually .popu'
lar. Scores OF people entered daily for
emergency treatment" The orice
found until the dentists chair was
| given n thorough overhauling. Cum
| ningiy concealed in the back Of the
| chair was complete dope caSinct
| When n patient entered, took his seat
In the chair and gave the proper pass
word the dentist would open the cabi.
syringe. administer a shot, collect his
fee, and the exhiiarated patient woult
| make way tor the next.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23

morphine solution, ironing u smooth.
and then writing upon II. the prison
officials sent some OF her letters to the
Treasury.
There in the chemical laboratory,
where Assistant Chemist ]. M. Doran
looks after all dope evidence, the paper
was analysed and unmistakable traces
OF morphine were found.
The deputy wardens glass eye. ana
the Denver iitoRraphs. the fake ciga-
rettes, and the false memorandum
books are hut a few OF the ingenious
devices which have been resorted TO
BY the pcdders seeking to evade the
Harrison law. -
Two dope fiends were picked up in an
Eastern city by Treasury agents few
months ago. Just after they had pur-
| cha sed some cocain from a pedler.
Both the friends and the pedler were
taken to the station house where they
were carefully searched and put In
| cells Within Ave hours the two VIC
tins were moaning p.tifully for dope
and as the hours passed their pleas
grew more frantic and their sunerine
worse. but never the sound OF a Whim'
per had come from the peddler. who
was also an addict
you'll never get n blat out OF me,
he boosted to the station house officials
and they replied, "We'll see about that
and straightway stripped him Of every
\ one OF his garments, giving him another
/ outnt.
Within a few hours the peddler''
means were added to those OF his vic
tins. and the police discovered tina
the mans undershlrt had held his sup
ply Of drugs The garment was OF IN
porous variety, and In many OF the III
| tie pores tiny packages containing jus
a pinch Of THE Stun" had been sewn.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
His Wife Put Cocaine
Under Postage Stamp

In another prison. convict received
every morning in the mail. a postal
card from his wife. Knowing the man
to have been an addict. and noticins
that he showed no III effects from being
shut off from dope. the officials inves-
tigated.
They found that beneath the one-cent
stamp on the postal cards small BIZ
of cocaine had been concealed.
This practice was stopped, but still the
And so suspecting that the woman was
| soaking her letter paper In a strong
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23

you have gained, I have seen dozens OF
nervous, rundown people who were ALL
ing, all the while. double their strength
ana endurance and entirely get rid OF all
symptoms Of dyspepsia. liver and other
troubles In from ten to fourteen days
time simply by taking iron In. the proper
form. And this after they had in some
cases been doctoring for months with
out obtaining any benefit. But don't
take the old forms of reduced iron. iron
acetate or tinctue OF iron simply to
save few cents. You must take iron
and assimilated like nuxated iron IL Won
want II to do you any good otherwise II
may prove worse than useless, MANY an
athlete or prizefighter has won the day
simply because he knew the secret OF
great strength and endurance and filled
nts blood with iron before he went into
the array while many another has gone
down to inglorious defeat simply for the
lack of iron.-E. Sauer nj, ID.
NOTE.-NuNated Iron, recommended aboy e
ny VI oauer' u not patent medicine nor
secret remedy but one which Is well known
widely prescribed by eminent physicians
everywhere. Unlike the older inorganic iron
products, u Is easily assimila led. does not
in1ure the teeth. make them black nor up-
set the stomach; on the contrary II IL n
most potent remedy. In nearly all forms ~ In
digestion, as we'll for nervous rundown
conditions: The manufacturers have such
great confidence In Nuxated Iron that they
offer TO forfeit $4,000 TO any charitable in
stitution IL they cannot take any man or
woman under so who lack iron and Increase
weeks time. provided they have no serious
organic trouble. They also offer TO refund
YOUR money II II does not IT least double
YOUR strength and endurance in ton days
| time. II is dispensed In this city by lame.
and ali other drugEists-Advt
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23

When the Harrison anti-narcotic law
became effective, hs accurate census
of drug users as II was possible TO Oh
tain, was taken. It's results were stag
pcriAg.
In the United States, nearly one mil
Hon dope addicts were found.
That meant that one man out of every
hundred was a narcotic slave. From
minimum of 800 to LOCO In sparceiy set
tied non-industrial states. to a maxi
mum Of 10000 In manufacturing states.
the tragic total grew, and II 10 believed
that n good many hundreds OF thousands
who practice their vice In secret were
missed by the census takers.
The drug addicts. Of course. were not
all "fends'' or "hop-heads'' In the COM
monty accepted sense OF the word. Some
OF them consumed only two grains OF
MORPHINE. heroin or cocaine every TWEEN
ty-fcur hours. But against these, there
stood long lists OF addicts who demand
ed from 125 TO $50 grains OF dope between
every sunrise and the next Medical
clinics have time and time again DEM
onstrated. however, that the maximum
Of assimilation for the human system is
from 50 to 70 grains day, and that all
narcotics above this amount taken are
practically eliminated.
When the fact that one grain Of NOR
phine. heroin. or cocain 10 sufficient TO
| cause death IL taken In one dose by a
normal man. something of the real
| significance OF the figures collected In
| the dope Census may be realized.
And something OF the enormity OF
the business of dispensing the narcotics
| to its slaves may be realized when one
| consults the figures. which show that
| for every bit OF dope commercially
worth 81 the drug rings Of the under
| world reaped $50 from its victims.
At the time the Harrison law went
| upon the statute books each large city
in the country. and most OF the smaller
ones. had its own underground rail.
! way" for dispensing narcotics.
When suddenly the members OF the
dope rings found all avenues closed to
them; when the unfortunate victims
experienced the first yen" or pan5
for THE STUFF" which they could nc
longer obtain; when physicians fcurd
their pres criptions calling for narcotic,
carefully hedgod about with iron-clat
Regulations. dispensers, and dope-hend'
alike knew that THE Famine" hat
| come.
i And SO. almost overnight. the 'dop
rings" Of the cities crystalized int
Systems" Eurricd preparations Were
made to supply the quivertng, plead
ing, sunken-eyed victims of Dope a
any cost. And almost before tho Treas
nry- AGENTS got well into the held. tn
lgigantic. Illicit business OF peddlinI
dope had taken on an entirely new
| nln
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
No System Discovered
In Narcotic Traffic

The revenue agents have never found
that the tentacles of the hope Sys-
TEN spread unbroken over the entire
United States. But the systems OF dis
pensing the narcotics werc found In
terlocking so far as communication
between different dope depots was con-
cerned, although there was no inter-
locking In the matter OF directing the
activities in the different cities
The Treasury agents, however, let
no grass grow beneath their feet. As
Quickly as they could act. they de-
livered smashing blows az the heart
cit,es Of I'll the country. Including New
York. Chicago, Detroit, SaE Francisco;
Memphis. Pittsburgh. Denver. and
Philadelphia.
yorfd repair. the Government agents
found that they had been dealing with
an almost unbelievable situation.
Every device known to the ingenuity
Of man had been called into play by
the drug rings, and there was owl
dence that along both the Canadian and
the Mexican borders bands OF smus-
| rlers had begun 10 operate AT a sur
prisingly succcssful rate c,,,
town OF a Pacific coast city had neen
| on hut A few weeps, word came to tine
4 Treasury agents that the Chinks are
| smoking their heads on.
agents To a steamer which had com.
4 from the Orient, Huge quantities o.
i opium in tin casks had been droppet
i through the steamers portfolios by chi
Il nese coolies during the dark OF TN
giers in fast power boats on the lookou
picked up the contraband. got It ashore
and TO the distributing depot.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23

the service viii be held az planned.
The sermon Will be preached by the
Rev. o. ,. Randall, Of Washington,
who also filled DR.. Jackson's pulpit At
this mornings service.
pr; jackson IL suffering from tom
siiitis.
The occasion OF the Odd Fellows
service is the Observance OF the nine
lishment OF the order. The two lodges,
Potomac and Sarepta. will meet in
Odd Fellows hall at Z o'clock. Escort
cd by Canton Alexandria, No. 4; Patrt-
archA Militant under command OF II.
church.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
How Some Peddlers
Concealed the Evil

Some OF the peddlers working in cigar
stores removed the cigarettes from
boxes Of well-known makes and be-
meath them inserted small decks" OF
cocain. replacing the cigarettes and SELL
ing them over the counter. Trouser
cuffs. coat lapes. the silk facings OF
underwear and even the seams of
clothing have been favorite hiding places
for dope. and in the homes of the dope
peddlers their supply has been found in
false buttons In desk drawers and
trunks. In concealed wall cabinets una
derneath the boards OF floors. and in one
| instance, In closet concealed by the
electric bell and telephone box in a
downstairs hall.
The crying need OF the poor devils
whose supply OF narcotics was cut of
by the Harrison law has given rise to a
peculiar phase of the dope-dispensinp
industry. which is nothing less than the
sale Of harmless products TO dope VIC
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
Pitiful Stories Heard
That Affect Families

There are pitiful stories OF whole fam
lilies who are drug addicts. OF medical
men high In their professions, who have
been dragged into the pit. There are
records of men and women who are
living lives of unbelievable torment
until their gnawing, constant craving
for drugs can be eradicated. There Is
an instance of man who, a confirmed
drug f1end. tried to stop, and for
twenty-eight years has been taking a
patent remedy" and now finds himself
cured of morphine eating. but fast in
the clutches of the Cure"
Multiply all preconceived ideas OF in
ferno fourfold and the result would not
tell one-tenth OF the agony which the
four walls of that little room have
heard, say the men who have heard all
the stories.
The stories come by letters from all
over the country In the nerveless chirog-
raphy of the trembling fiend, who
pleads and begs that the Government
who has taken his Lethe from him will
relent "just in his case"
The stories> come also from the VIC
Tins themselves. who often find their
way to Washington, to beg the author
tiles to do something to aid them.
And although only about l per cent
Of the drug addicts have been serious
dope, the pathos and the misery OF
their position is detracted from in nc
So, for the aid of the ones who ar,
suffering between the upper milestone
of the Government and the neither
milestone Of the dope peddler, the Sec
rotary of the Treasury has already rec
commended that the Government itsel
establish an institution for their re
lief.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
Both Officials In
Sympathy With Move

II was considered particularly fortu-
nate that the enactment OF the Harri-
son law should have found In the
Treasury Department such men as As
sistant Secretary w. p. Milburn, In
( charge Of customs. and w. II. Osborn,
Commissioner OF Internal Revenue, to
superintend its enforcement. Both the
Assistant Secretary and the Commits
/ sioner are men deeply In sympathy
| time possessed OF broad understand
! ing OF the enormous amount OF tenn
porary suffering the work entailed upor
Abe drug victims OF the United States
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
Villista Chief Braves
u. S. to See Sweetheart

WITH THE AMERICAN ARMY IN
MEXICO. April 23.-General Cervantes,
Of the villistas. now held responsible
for the Columbus raid. held tryast with
his sweetheart in Namiauipa. almost un-
der the very eyes OF Brigadier General
Pershing's field headquarters. Another
Mexlcan woman. through jealousy, told
of these visits. and Cervantes was
obliged to take to the hills TO avoid
capture.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
BATTLE AGAINST DOPE
ADRAMAT|C STRUGGLE
What Government Has Done In
Last Year Makes De Quln-
E cey's Story a Tame Tale.
CONTINUED from First Psse5

aeainst the Dope Traffic.
Arrayed against them they founo
multitude OF unscrupulous. cunning men
ana women of the Underworld, rat-
fickers In Illicit narcotics. Firmly en-
trenched behind apparently unassailabie
and devious systems Of smuggling. they
laughed at the law. and continued 10
pour the cocain, morphine. heroin ana
opium into the palsied hands OF human
There was no great Octopus. with
tentacles reaching Into a hundred cities,
and which, II slain. would carry down
with Il the entire Illicit system OF
smuggling and distribution.
Instead there were a thousand little
octopi. each lurking in Its own separate
city-lair, wrapping its tentscles around
rich and poor alike, dragging down unto
the dope-depths Banker and Business
Man, cheek by jowl with Hop-crar('
Gunman and the Maids OF the lehu@
loin Dove Cotes. 4
90 when the Treasury agents smashed
n ring in one town. and turned to the
next and the one after that. new octopl
grew over night in the towns which hao
lust been cleaned up" and the rsen OF
the Government soon learned tha'
theirs was an Augean task.
And although the war against tne
Dope Evil has been waged relentleesly
today-a full year after the Harrison
law was placed upon the statute books
II il apparent that while much has beer
accomplished to the end OF eradicatine
the dope traffic. the end OF the strug'
gle Is not yet in sight.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
Here Are Cold Figures
And Some Human Facts

The cold. statistical figures for the
FIRST three months of its operation-the
only figures now available-indlcate
that:
During the four months ended June
90. 1916, there were reported a total OF
b.0s5 violations OF this law, and the
regulations made hereunder, OF which
las were by persons registered under
the law, and Asst by unregistered per-
sons. The violations by the registered
persons were distributed among the
professions as follows: 257 by. physi-
Gains; 10 by dentists; by veterinary
surgeons, by manufacturers. by
wholesale dealers, 81 by retail dealers.
and by registered persons not within
THESE classincations.
Prosecutions were instituted and
trials had in lu cases. resulting in con-
victons In log cases and acquittals ir
25 cases. Upon convictions fines only
were imposed in a number of cases
while in others both fines and impris'
onment, ranging from short Jail term'
90 three years in the Federal peniten.
tiary. were fixed by the courts. There
were ITO cases under indictment o,
held for the grand jury at the clos,
OF the fiscal year. A total of q easel
volving only technical violations of tn,
law and regulations. dropped upor
recommendation of the internal reve
nue. officers and United States attor
neys, and 500 cases in which no &C
ton had been taken were pending
June 30, 1916.
80 much for the figures, and now 70
the human facts.
During the past year wonderful
history In all the phases OF human SUI
dering has been written in the Znnal
OF the Dope Crusade. From a littl
room on the third floor of the Treas
ury Department, where all report
dealing with the narcotic law are re
ceived. come tales which relegate d
Quincey's Confessions OF an Opium
Eater" to the realm Of mediocrity.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
Sale Restricted But
Much Il Yet To Be Done

theoretically Philadelphia was Cleaned
up a year ago. yet only last Monday a
youth of nineteen stood in the Phila-
deiphia police court. a self-confsssed
addict, in connection with the death OF
a boy pal from an overdose Of cocain.
And few days before that, through
the death OF a pretty young woman,
the police OF New York learned that
''morphine party had been given In one
Of the fashionable studio apartments OF
the city.
Scores OF pallid. emaciated drug vic
tins still manage, through the devious
channels OF a tenacious underworld. TO
purchase by risk and exorbitant price,
"a shot of hop" or a "snin Of the stun, y
the customs people admit
Yet for every one of them there 10 a
thousand others who are being cured
willy nilly'' by the simple expedient
Of making II impossible for them TO
obtain the rlrcotics which enslaved
them. All OF which lends particular
interest TO the workings of the Harrison
law thus far
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23

O~yine To- the delay In receiving in
terroe ntory sheets. caused by changes
assessment. which IL made by Charles
II. Callahan, commissioner of revenue,
will be delayed sgain this yea for at
least three months. The work OF max
ing the assessment, which should have
been commenced in February. will, not
be started until next week.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
winchester was selected az the pis

winchester was selected as the place
OF the next meeting OF Group No. a.
Of the Virginia Bankers Association.
In annual convention here yesterday,
The following officers were electeL
fred q. Maphis. president: DR.. r. l..
Robey. vice president, and G., y. kem-
per, secretary-treasurer. These offi-
GERS with w. e. Hardy and ID. y. Brit
tie, constitute the ADVISORY committee.
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23

A raid wna made by policemen under
Sergeants Soott and Wilkinson on an
alleged gambling l.cuse on King Etrcct
shortly after last midnight. Harry Pc
ters was charged with keeping n gam
ci,nrred Win ~nis wf,,, as,nb,in9 " Pc.
tiers deposited SO collateral and the
others s. ench. They will he given n
hearing before Police Justice Cation to-
morrow morning,
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23

Despite the illness OF the Rev. Il. b.
jackson, u. D., pastor OF the First
preached a sermon tonight to the Odd
Fellows OF Alexandria at his church,
The Washington times. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1902-1939, 1916-04-23
Masonic Lights RekindIed.

The symbolic lights OF Scottish Rite
Masonry, which were extinguished at
the Maundy Thursday banquet, held
last Thursday night, we're relightsd
this afternoon in Masonic Temple by
the officers of Randolph Chapter, No.
3, OF the Rose Croix.