Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-09-30
LAW INADEQUATE
Continued from page !

The vice was imported into Whining
! ton about three or four years ago by
| Negroes from Philadelphia, which city has
| n reputation, second To none as centre
| for the illegal use and distribution of mar
| cotics. For time the Negroes who used
| heroin were forced to get their supplies
| from the much-miscalled Quaker City,
where the vicinity of Eighth and Race
streets long has been sort OF open market
| for the sale and purchase of narcotics
| But il was not long before hcroin could he
bought here. In the first place, those who
| used it hahitually didn't like the journey
| TO Philadelphia and back two or three
| times a week. Next there were human
| birds of prey who SAW IN the demand for n
| local hcroin market, a chance to make a lot
| of money. for the reason that they could
! buy the drug Mt wholesale to such adj
| vantage, that profits of 500 per cent were
| easily obtanahc selling al retail
An instance of this is found in the fact
| that some months ago, n wholesale trat-
| ticker in heron came here with grip
| which contained about 800 worth OF the
| pure drug Aduiterated with sugar OF
| milk and sold in 81 cent decks, rs the
| retail packages arc known, the lot was
worth about 81 800 Luckily, the police
= bapEth lilt Niittt tttiNik@iAtiNi''
| Use of heron soon spread from the
| PHILADELPHIA Negroes who brought 1t
| here to other Negroes. For n time u was
| very secret and under the rose, but IT
| soon ceased tn bc so. although IT was not
| sufficiently open as TO engage the attcn-
| ton of the police When this happened.
| the vice had So fastened itself among the
| colorcd population as 90 require drastic
! measures to break its hold, And then,
| quite suddenly came the shocking reveia-
| ton that it had spread from its black I'M
portcrs to tho whites and that there were
| very many whltc mon and women who
had become thoroughly hahitucs Of the
drug, ueing II chiefly by means Of the
hvpodcrmic needle, although some smiled
| II through the nostrllr.
WARFARE IN EARNEST
Up to this time prosecutions had been
more or less sporadic for the reason that
the sellers Ut the drug were protected by
the users. who realized that unless they
did SO their source Of supply would he cut
off This made tho work " tcrrctlng ont
and arrcsting the trat'i,kcrs most
difficult matter. The police found them
selves unable 10 obtain evidence except
through the use oi an hahItuc OF the drug,
who sincerely wished 10 abandon IT and
reform Sellers OF hcroIu knew who used II
and who did not. and They would sell TO
no one unless he or she was known to
them, and the minute an unfortunate
wretch was suspected Ot being used bv tho
police his ar her supply MAS At once cat OIL
This state Of affairs continues to thus daN,
and II Is still as difficult ms ever to get
evidence
But the authorities realized "a the full
what they were NJ against and fought the
traffic 30 the very best of their ability
Nor has this tight ceased for moment
since II was begun
The first hug drive Of the rnlicc and the
attorney general against the heron sellers
materalizcd IN General Sessions NJ the
Man term thus wear. when bug batch Of
convictions sent lot Of the trathcker'
IL the work house II was thought he re
| suits Of This offensive would put a crimp
| in the traffic and 60 long way toward
| breaking It up
But the job Was hardly done before tho
authorities realized that they had barely
| scratched the surface - widespread was
the vice. 50 great the demand for tho drug
| and 50 great the profits IN 4 that new
| set OF sellers Instantly sprang ur ~ take
/ the places of those sent to jail and II
anything they were IN even greater Num-
| bers And ou top Of his. ono 81 tho VIC
| Tins oi the drug died under such cir0m-
| stances as Ia cause the immediate arrest Of
the Negro who solid him he dope
| All through his summer the authorities
| worked with v,gor he police and dc
| tectlve, to catch tic trafickcr> and At
torncy General Rolnhardt and Deputy