Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1922-04-09
Continued from Last Week

Before leaving the subject OF drugs II
should be pointed out that no prominent
motion picture actor or actress ever has
been arrested as an addict so far as !
know. This merely is worth passing men
ton. The reader, of course, knows that
addicts who are well up in the social or
professional scale are seldom arrested any
where. Does any one recall such an arrest
In New York? or much greater signil.
canoe is the fact that even In the inside
gossip of the California movie zone the
number Of well known players suspected
of addiction is very small. Wherever l
went | asked, who are these dope flends
we've been reading about?" OF the names
given me by more than two persons the
public would recognize only five. One of
these was that OF the handsome matinee
idol heretofore mentioned The others
we're women. There are in the Hollywood
district when the studios are booming,
which Is not the case now about 5000 pro.
fessional actors more or less regularly
engaged, in addition to a swarm Of extras.
About 100 OF these are stars or featured
performers whose names sparkle In cleo.
Z.
100 were seriously mentioned as addicts
even by lovers OF scandal, and the only one
concerning whom first hand testimony was
offered was that of the screen hero said to
have been seen jabbing himself with a
needle
| admit that I was an outsider in Holly
wood, but do not believe that any dope
cult" exists among the well known players,
and am sure that the great majority of
them have the same horror of narcotic
drugs as other normal beings. And, by the
way, 1t seems to be pretty well established
that William Desmond Taylor, the direc-
tor who was murdered, was not only try
ing to get famous actress to give Up NOR
phine but was fighting group of peddlers
who were smuggling drugs into one Of the
Hollywood studio Enclosures. He had
caused one OF the peddlers to be beaten
almost to death at this studio. Most OF
the drug users are among the low grade
extras, certain small comedy companies
and gunman type OF hired hand. There
has been until recently no concerted effort
of the producing arrangements to stamp
out the traffic.
that such an effort now is under way. l
might add here that Hollywood physician
who gave me closeup view Of the COM
munity as he saw It said that within the
past year he had encountered only three
addicts. Two were girln, both extras"
The other was q man, a relative OF an &C.
tor. The Rev. Neal Dodd. an Episcopalian
pastor, who is sort Of movie chaplain
and is to have charge of Little Church
Around the Corner to be built in Holly
wood, said he personally knew of only one
dope case" involving an actor.
So much for narcotic drugs. Next, alco-
hol This topic can be dismissed with a
few words. California under prohibition
is one of the wettest States. Liquor easily
is procurable in every large community,
including Hollywood. In parts of Los
Angeles it is sold openly notably at soft
drink counters, 1t Cannot be bought openly
anywhere in Hollywood, which always
has been a saloonless town and Is now.
An old timer said to me, my daughter, Is
years old has never seen drunken per-
SON."
The homes OF Hollywood are stocked
with liquor in about the same proportion
as elsewhere. Every thirsty burgher has
his list OF bootleggers' telephone numbers.
He swaps telephone lists with his naighbor,
Just as he used to trade home brew recipes.
He phones his order to the bootlegger and
he stuff is delivered at the back door. The
poison is synthetic gin at IS
quart. There also Is California wine to be
had in any quantity. prohibition having
At least doubled the price OF the grape
growers product Grapes may be bought
IN season by the pound or the ton. Un-
'errnented grape Juice is sold by the three
gallon jar for s5 the Jar, I believe. A
friend told me that three parts Of water
,dded to the Juice produced, after an In
erval and without any attention whatever.
he rarest burgundy. How this exciting
mutation is accomplished don't know, but
hat is what he said. There is much drink.
ng in Hollywood. Most Of 1t is in the
ZONES OF movie and non-movie residents.
Many homes are abstemious. Douglas Fair
ranks and Mary Pickford are among the
disclaimers. They serve no liquor in their
lome except at formal dinners.
An alcoholic cross section OF Hollywood
PRESENTS no phenomena not to be found
nowadays in other communities East and
Vest with this exception: My impression
$ that the movie people, taken collectively.
AVE in the past given and attended more
booze parties" than most other communi.
les of the same size, and that reckless
indulgence has been more frequent Holly
Tood probably will dispute this. Anyway
70 can agree that since the Arbuckle ex-
losion there has been a slowing up all
round.
Another count made against Hollywood
) that girls who try to enter the movies
r to advance in their profession are SUBJ
sct to the moods Of INSCRIPTIONS directors
nd even Of "magnates." asked one of