The Washington times., 1929-03-07
Abolish the Narcotic Evil!
Our Government Is Terribly Lax in Curbng Dope Traffic
President Hoover Has Great Opportunity to
End This Curse.
EFoRE this country sends any delegates to inter
national opium conferences Geneva let first Clea
End This Curse.

> national opium conferences Geneva let first clean
house
Before look down with any hoer than thou
expression let us first be sure doing all that any
nation possibly do to- suppress the narcotic traffic within
Its own boundaries.
Other governments foster the raising of opium poppies
stimulate the manufacture Of narcotics wink at its ict
expotaton throughout the world The United States does
none Of these things Officially our Government depores
these ghasly activities leads the world in antnarcotic
conferences But actually Federal Government terribly
lax in its efforts to abolish the narcotic evil in the United
States And here is something for President Hoover
all Of the power of his office and of his personal prestige
20 clear up and clean up,
He is appointing fact finding commission inves-
gate the Of law enforcement incident prohib
ton and other causes he will do tremendous service to
his country if he extends the activities that commission
to the state Of annarcoc enforcement in the United States
it reliably reported he will, The commission need
not far to discover conditions that will make prohb
ton troubles like cold in the head compared with
leprosy:
Gentlemen Washington always ready to investigate
alcohol They ready to investigate dope.
In the recent Congress resolution introduced calling
Tor thorough research OF the dope evil received no hear
ing although its supporters pleaded for 20 minutes the
floor Of the House died in the Rules Committee of which
Representative Smell New York was chairman and the
honorable MIR Smell let it die explaining that his committee
which he controls virtually unanimous in its opinion
that now is the wrong time to investigate dope.
But if now the wrong tme when will the right time
come? When Congress approprates millions for prohibition
enforcement and only thousands for annarcoc enforcement
when seriously debates appropriations Of $200OO00 for al
cchol and umphany increases enforcement funds
by bare $2o0OOO when spends times pre-
vent the sale of beer and wine does to stop the sale of
killing DOPE when it has small army of prohibition
agents in large city and only narcotic agent each
100000 Of population when Federal judges let off dope
pedders with small fines which practically amount to license
fees for the privilege Of selling dope and communicating the
community and hide behind technCalites when they do
when Voator of the Voead may be fined $4,000 and
sentenced to five years JAIL and voator of the antelope
laws compromise their with the Government for
few hundred of dollars when Federal customs agents free
responsible dope dealers and arrest hold only the minor
agents when San Francisco customs collector leve fines of
$608O50 and those fines reduced by the Washington
bureau chief $5183 when such facts these
easily discovered then is the time to acand act
swiftly and drastically
For there is either cowardice corruption Federal
departments though is impossible conceive stupidity
dense enough cousne enough for the
complete failure of these departments convict the
RESPONSIBLE ingators in drug importation and drug SALE
We hold the dope peddler in horror but how much more
terrible the situation if those whom the public depend
for protection against the dreadful creation of dope addcs
the community actually participants in the crime bene
fcaries of the heous traffic accompces after the fact and
before the fact ~
Here is real need for investigation.
Here is something for the good people of the country get
egmaey excited about for there just much for
stopping the narcotic traffic there for enforcing the
btion regulations just there danger to the health
and happiness of the community in cocaine and morphine than
there is in comparatively innocent glass of beer
We hunt down the small booegger and stick him in prison
We pat the big dope peddler the back and him
do it again.
Isn't that something to investigate?