Evening star., 1924-04-16
IN TODAY'S SPOTLIGHT
BY PAUL y. COLLINS

A few weeks ago William r.
Greene, chairman of the ways and
means committee of the House, re-
cetved telegram from physician
of Buffalo urging him to use all his
influence to kill the Porter bill limit
ing Importation Of opium to preven I
the manufacture of heroin. The
learned doctor added: 1T is about
time that ignorant laymen ceased
foolishly limiting physicians in the
legitimate practice of medicine.
prevent further enoroachment upon
physicians rights"
To this telegram Mr.. Greene re-
piled: Il would say that Congress,
realizing that X As composed of ig-
norant laymen' SO far as the use of
opiates is concerned, acts only upon
the best advice obtainable-"
Extremely few physicians support
heroin as an alleged medicine, and
United States public health service,
nor with the American Medical So
ciety comprising so per cent of all
the physicians OF Aruerica), nor with
the Army, the Navy nor the Vet
erans' Bureau. and certainly not with
the surgeons of the leading peniten-
tiaries or OF worklfouses of our great
cities.
The ways and means committee has
just completed extensive hearings on
the Porter bill and will report II OUT
unanimously and urgently for tn4foa-
date passage. perusal OF the re-
port of the testimony makes ne
shudder at the enormous evil and the
rapidity with which it has cofae upoh
Americans within a decade, parric'f-
larly the youth of botb} sexes; con-
yerting them into violent and unre-
strained criminals of the most aes-
perate class. No other form y Oh
opium-morphine, codeine or c9caine
has more than third of%;the
strength of heroin, nor do those etner
salts even approach heroin in its.yio-
lent and conscienceless Criminal I'm
pulse. =, -
This is what DIR. Amos Q. Squares,
chief surgeon of Sing Sing Prison,
testified about heroin: = e.-t.E
prior to 1919 the drug 'addicts
lin Sing Sing) did not give: us great
concern as in the last few, yeaTs In
1917 they were less than four tenthss OF
per cent. In 1920 they had insreased
100 per cent; in 1922 over 500 per
cent and in 1923 over goo per cent
Today, one out of every eleven is an
addict This is true of women as
well as men. Their ages run as low
as sixteen years, but the average is
twenty-four years. Now s6 per cent
of the man addictS are heron ao
diets, per cent cocaine and 3 or
per cent are mixed-take both heroin
and morphine. The heroin addicts
average a year younger than the
others.
THE effect of heroin is very much
more severe on the body than aico-
who is an addict getting we'll than
for an alcoholics recovery.
In the Atlanta penitentiary 1s per
cent of the convicts are herofn ad-
diets; in the St. Louis workhouse, 16
per cent There are more than a
DR.. Squires and other testified that
the Increased use of opiates, espe-
cialIy heroin, has no relation. to pro-
hibition of alcoholic liquor. An alco-
hol-craving victim is not inclined to
turn to a sedative. That man wants
a stimulant.
Dr. Squires stated that when an
addict reaches Sing Sing the treat
ment given him is immediate and
complete, cutting off his supply of
heroin Except in cases of tubercu-
losis, where a "taperiRg- Off" treat
ment is given by using a milder form
of opium). The agony Of the patient
is terrible. Yet so broken down is
the mentality of such a victim Of
heroin that. though "cured" for years
in prison, he Is likely to fall again
as soon as released.
r r X
Similar testimony was given by
several medical experts with large
hospital experience. 1t was testified
that leaders of criminal gangs in the
big cities. although not themselves
.addicts always give heroin to their
-. -. : "a. q q. St... :. = =. -4~..