Omaha daily bee. (Omaha [Neb.]) 187?-1922, 1919-05-09

Douglas county Jail, has received
hundreds of calls commencing her
for the scathing rebuke she gave DR..
Palmer Findley, medical director,
and Miss Alta Berger, superintend-
ent, in Tuesdays Bee for their in
discriminate use of dope among the
girls of the Detention home.
Mother" Johns venerable angel
of mercy. time tested and time hon
cred friend of the fallen girl, has
cured of the drug habit scores of
women released from the Detention
home, where they were given from
four to six injections of morphine
day for months at time, which
reputable attorneys and physicians
have declared to be in fragrant viola
ton of the law.
Article Absolutely True.
II have been answering the tele-
phone night and day." she asserted.
1T was | o'clock yesterday morning
when | responded to the last call.
Even later the bell continued to ring,
but l had retired. Most of the calls
were from persons seeking conhrma-
ton of the article printed in The
Bee. In reply to each inquiry said
it was true absolutely. In many cases
/ gave additional and stronger in
formation.
"In my opinion, based on per-
sonal contact and observation, it is
an lmpossibility to overstate the
horrible and revolving details. Any
one with semblance of a spark OF
human kindness in his nature cannot
view the condition of these poor
girls who come to US from the De-
tention home without feeling Of
pity for the poor, helpless, outraged
victims.
Advocate Immediate Action.
Every single person who speaks
to me on the subject expresses the
opinion that immediate steps should
be taken to end the nefarious prac-
tice at that place. In my opinion it
helps breed instead of curing the
evil. And to think many good
church people have been fooled into
believing that such treatment of
these poor victims is the right thing
to do"
There we're IL girls in the De-
tention home last Wednesday, and
of these nine were being given four
shots of morphine day. according
to Lula Patterson, 1915 Davenport
street, who was released from the
home on that day and committed to
the county Jail.
Il spent one week in the Deten-
ton hcme," she said, "and each day
| was given four shots with the
other girls. I heard two white girls
and one colored girl refuse to take
morphine.
Il know another girl named Nora
Coleman, who lives at Seventeenth
and Burt streets. Before being
thrown into the Detention home she
had taken cure for the dope habit.
To my certain knowledge she had
not taken a shot in seven months.
When she was released from the
Detention home the habit was
stronger with her than it ever had
been. Nora is using the needle to-
day. She gradually is going down
the other side of the hill. Nora
Coleman is not the only girl know
who holds the Detention home re-
sponsible for her habit of using
dope.
Can Furnish Na,nAs
Il do not like to take the liberty
of giving the names of girls / know
to the newspapers. but | can furnish
names of other girls who never
knew what it was to use the needle
until they learned it in the Deten-
ton home, and who today are con-
frmed drug addicts."
Pearl Price and Ruth Morrison.
both inmates of the county Jail, and
former prisoners at the Detention
home, also declared they would be
willing to furnish names of girls who
had contracted the habit while at
the Detention home. .. ....
The Morrison girl told of an oc-
casion when she was arrested with
Ethel Johnson, Emma Scllweitzer
and Lorraine Miller, and taken to the
police station. They were required
to give S. each to the physician
who examined them and then per-
mitted, without hearing iii court,
to continue the practice for which
they were arrested, she said.
Pearl Price also told of being
taken to the police station and of
being released by the examining