Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1918-05-18
SATUDAY, MAY is. 1918.
A Heavy RIow al Deadly Vice.


tttorncy-C; General Rcinhardt his deputy
for New Castle county. Percy Warren
Green. AMI the detective bureau oi the
Wilmington Police Department have done
Tho community they serve very great
and very important good through the
prosecutions. just brought Ia successful
close. against SELLERS of hcro'n IN violation
of The state Drug act Every person
engaged in the task 81 ja'lng the iiIlcit
dispensers of this most horrible drug
and there lz no other word than "hor-
riblc 6tlv describing IT.. from Mr.
Pcinhar.lt ,iovn 10 the humhlest of the
witnesses. deserves The greatest credit
for tn, work .lonc and the results achieved
Nor NAV hose results hc measured morrlN
by the number of offenders sent ~ lai
or he length of thc terms they will scrve
or the aggregate of the fines they must
pav, although these things arr largo
factors in the ultimate good llt" Ing
outstanding facts resulting from the
prosncutionz are that mighty and crlp-
nlins blow has hccn dealt the horo'n ylc"
IN thl. citv and that for long hmc the
business of selling hcrmn will not he y
popular ono hcrraboutS
Those who are in position 70 know
whereof they speak say that tho traffic
in the drug. originally introduced here
for the benefit Of hahitues migrating to
Wilmington from other cities, has grown
bv leaps and bounds within the past wear
or so. But what is Of far greater mo-
ment to the community hos IN the fact
that it has spread from the negroes to
the whites, large numbers of whom arc
said 10 be addicted to the habit II for
no other reason--and there are plenty n
stamping out such tremendous evil
became public duty as we'll as public
service
Getting evidence sufficient 10 Obtain
convictions was task Of extraordinary
difficulty. since sellers Of the drug no
toriouslv would deal with no person not
known to them as a user Of IT, which meant
that if they we're betrayed 10 the authon-
Tics INC featA8NFf ; SOtiitt W E'At'f'iN N''ieA
be- forever cut off But tho seemingly
Impossible was achieved through the
medium OF an hahltue who sincerely and
earnestly desired to reform
None save those who have hecn tho
victims uf heron OF have had first-hand
knowledge of them knows what deadly
lice use of the drug is ard 10 Whai extent
of suffering. mental, moral and physical,
it reduces those whom il claims. In
comparison the liquor habit IS but
weakling and quito . mid sort Of dlssipa-
tinn. IIcroin makes tho worst kind OF
liars and thieves OF its dcvoteCs and leads
them on to crime Of the highest nature.
insers.ble to I'll else than the qualification
oi the demon cnavIng cor ~'antly at their
Nitals. Men have been known to de-
murder ior q single shot of the drug
What is o bc done IN tho future about
this very dreadful thing IS matter
that bv reason of tho difficulties the
authorities ha.,a had in bring successful
prosecutions, asks for attention. In the
flrst place. the punishment, oi Whlch the
maximum IS ono wears imprisonment and
5000 fine. is insufficient The term should
bc longer nd-well, the fine can bc
dodged. wherefore is the necessity for
something that viii compensate for It,.
Secondly, the drug act carries no provision
for the punishment of a person simply
caught with tho drug Illegally in has or her
possession, a very valuable and efficient
clause. as has been found in other States.
Moreover the act should be amended TO
include hcroin among the prescribed
drugs
And so here at least is something our
dosa-State legislators may help do for
Wilmington and the State generally next
session, without getting anti-urban about
1t or seeking the quid pro quo.