Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-02-26
NARCOTIC EVIL GROWING.
PRISON FIGURES SHOW
Representative Porter's Bill to Establish
Federal Cure Farms Brings
Question to Fore.

narcotic hospital with accommodations
Tor l,500 to 1000 prisoners be cstab-
liShed III the East: that Mcneil Island
be fitted up for hospital in the Pacific
Coast section. and that another Fed
eral prison be built out in that re-
gion. but III more central location.
Mcneil Island hardly is suitable for
a penitentiary, he said. explaining that
the Government occupies only 4S9
acres Of 4.400-acre tract which Is
otherwise filled up with home owners
and Summer cottages. and offers I'M
limited opportunities to convictS to get
away. At the same time. he added. the
investment there is too great TO be dis
regarded.
He said that the disqualification plan
offers what he believes Is the best
solution for the overcrowding of the
prisons. for as bad as the situation
admittedly is at present, Conner ampli-
fed, the 1929 estimates were drawn up
with an eye to further increase in
population
Comprehensive Plan Presented.
Porter res gore into the whole
r,.'tcr s. length. with the result that
II ,riy comprehensive plan is presented
~ 5sa::l; with tie narcotic problem
in It's various laTnitlcatlonS.
The Pennsylvania proposes that two
United States Narcotic Farms" be
established. and that these not only be
open TO Federal prisoners. but that
States also have the privilege of placing
addicts there. and, as unique feature.
that any addict. not a prisoner. seeking
cure be admitted on application
provided facilities are available
Tho FeGp~o1 C,nycrnn1eSf however
would not be forced to bear the costs
of treating the two latter classes. the
States themselves or addicts standing
the expense.
In offering treatment for State
prisoners. il is not unlikely that large
class also would be reached. for it
seems TO be an established fact that
drug-using looms large i'll all kinds of
criminality. whether it is picking pock-
cts or robbing trains and that the
addicts who happen to get caught and
sent to Federal prison under the terms
CT the Harrison act are only a portion
of those whose taste for drugs causes
them to become lawbreakers Of one
kind or another
These farms" would provide skilled
treatment for the addlcts. healthful
recreational facilities. and in addition
would be equipped TO produce supplies
for Government use. thus furnishing oc-
cupation for the inmates from which
they or their dependents would derive
income. Safeguards would be thrown
around the commitment of any prisoner
that these institutions might not de-
come Ravens for deSperadoes. incorrigi-
bleS or others whose presence would
initiate against the welfare of the
farms" and no discharge or parole
would be permitted until there was EVIL
dence cure had been effected. This
rigid discharge rule would not only ap-
ply TO prisoners but also to those pa
tients who had entered voluntarily.
States Would Be Encouraged.
Narcotic research work also would be
carried out in the institutions which
are TO be manned with Public Health
Service personnel and the results made
available for use OF the States which
would be encouraged TO establish their
own centers to combat an evil describ-
ed by Mr.. Porter as causing an eco
nom.c loss Of billion dollars yearly in
this country.
Selection of the sites for the farms"
would be left TO the Attorney General
and the Secretaries Of the Treasury and
War. and the first-named officer would
exercise supervision. q special division
being created iii the Office OF the su-
perintendent of prisons for this purpose
In statement accompanying the bill.
Mr.. Porter declares that drug addiction
Is a disease and that a prison is no
place to treat diseased person. He re-
calls that his propose! is in line with
a resolution he sponsored at the Inter
parliamentary Union in Paris last Az
gust and that II meets views expressed
by President Coolidge II is the Penn
sylvanian's idea that such establish
ments are vitality needed. careful and
scientific treatment In a specialized in
stitution for considerable period OF
time even to four years. being viewed as
the prime requisite for treating addicts.
He also asserts that crime would be
reduced BY the operation of the farms"
adding that the nearly so per cent of
the men who leave prisons, return To
their old ways 10 procure money 10
crafty their craving for drugs
The institution should not he expen-
size. in Mr.. Porter-s opinion bGt he en-
phasizes whatever the cost. IL would be
real economy II il were possible to re-
claim 1000 addicts annually. quoting a
figure of $4,000 as the cost OF appre-
hending and convict!ng single
offender