New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1917-01-15
Pastor Asserts Former
/. Drug Conviction Also
Was Police Trick
DISCUSSED IN FRAUD
EXPOSE BY ADAMS
Brooklyn Clergyman Sub
ject of Article by Med
ical Association

ITS a frame-up!" said the Rev. VIII
lam y. Richie. at his home at 100 ST.
James Place. Brooklyn, last night. TINS
was in reply to a request for his YER
sion Of his last conflict with the au-
thorities.
His latest encounter occurred Thurs
day. when he was arrested OH a cnetBo
OF selling morphine worth 81 TO
member Of the police drug squad. VINO
posed as drug user.
When asked ii he would care to tell
Of his first encounter with the law
when he was convicted and fined on
charge of practising medicine without
n license. the Rev. Mr.. Richie said:
THAT. too, was a frame-up.'
"But you were convicted and fined
and YOU didn't appeal the case?"
Eyes. but that's years ago. ! never
practiced medicine. Just rubbed some
oil on the detectives body and he -.
At this iuncture a man OF about
thirty-five rushed down the stairs. and'
running TO the former clergyman. VINO
was talking through his partly openen
door. poked him in the ribs and ex-
claimed: =.
"Why don't you stop talking! Don't
talk to him. Don't you know thatll so
in the papers,
Discussed by Medical Association
And the doctor shut the door with as
little ceremony as he had showed Sam
uel Hopkins Adams when Mr.. Adams,
while exposing a patent medicine swim
die dozen years ago. sought TO nave
him answer few questions.
1t may interest physicians with
whom Mr.. Richie has been dealing
lately to know that Mr.. +. Richie Is
discussed in three pages devoted to
him and to his drug-fend remedy IN
The Great American Fraud pub
lished by the American Medical Asso-
citation. This book contains all the
articles written by Samuel Hopkins
Adams for "Coller's" when he was
engaged in exposing patent medicine
swindies and medical quacks. In the
second part of the book, which is called
"Quacks and Quackery," in the article
entitled "Scavengers. Mr.. Adams deals
with the Rev. Mr.. Richie and his
remedy"
Since his latest burst into print Mr..
Richie. who is a respectable looking old
man. with gray hair and mustache. de
clared that he was selling a medicine
for the cure Of drug habits. He said II
was called "Richie's Remedy" Asked
what il contained, he said it was Sc
cret. The Richie Remedy" Of 1911 was
not altogether a secret. Al that time
Mr.. Richie and his son, Nelson Grant
Richie. were tried in the United states
District Court for an alleged failure TO
mark the labels on the remedy in &C
cordance with Law. The remedy was
shown TO contain morphine.
Painless Remedy" of 1906
Morphine also was an ingredient Of
"Richie's Painless Remedy" in 1906.
VIXEN Mr.. Adams exposed him and his
remedy. At the time Mr.. Adams wrote:
Surrounded by the best religious in
fuences in the Presbyterian Building.
at SO Fifth Avenue. New York City.
the Rev. ". n. Richie. D. d., holds
forth. Here, in pious words. he inyokes
the aid of heaven upon his transac-
tions. lie has another address, l05 81.
James Place. Brooklyn, where he does
the work of hell As high minded a
man as the late Rev. John Hall was
duped. and his picture is now used on
one OF the Richie circulars.
"The literature gotten out by the
reverend exploiter reeEs of SNUG
pseudopiety. lie recommends his nos
trum as painless cure for all drug
habits. Only cure Endorsed by the sec
retaries Of Foreign Mission boards, in
DETERMINATIONS committee, etc lie
claims il will cause actual destruction
of the desire for narcotics On his
letterheads appear conspicuously the
words: Supports better than the drug.
No substitute.
This means that in the remedy no
drug is substituted for the one used By
the victim. II is a lie. The Rev. DR..
Richie knows il for lie. SO well does
he know it that his employees dare not
back UP his correspondence. After
procuring sample OF the output |
wrote. under an assumed name, saying
that il produced the same effect as
morphine. and asking II II contained
any Of that drug.
The Reply
"Here is the reply: There would be
no special advantage in our denying or
asserting the use of morphine or opium
in the remedy Their sample on anal
ysis contains 2.12 grains Of crystal
lized morphine per dose.
81 am invited to cure myself by TAX
irg this stuff four times a day. II ]
lived through the first dose the second
would kill me or any of my readers
who is not a morphine fend."
But the Rev. Nr. Riches methods
according TO the sworn testimony OF
Detective Greer have changed since
then. Now. on the sworn word Of the
detective. the statement is made that
the Rev Mr.. Richie has sold morphine
TO n man he believed to be a drug fend
and who had the cash, giving Kim this
advice:
an case YOU meet a con, smash the
bottle on the ground