478  Acquirement  of  Drug  Habits.        {A  ocSerPi5o3rm' 
users,  who  consumed  all  the  way  from  one  grain  to  three-eighths 
ounce  per  day.  The  endorsements  of  this  institution  are  good  and 
they  claim  relapses  of  only  twenty-five  per  cent. 
We  have  quite  a  number  of  letters  from  various  institutions  of 
this  character  and  some  of  their  reports  are  interesting,  but  not  suit- 
able for  this  report  any  further  than  to  state  that  in  almost  every 
city  of  say  100,000  inhabitants  there  are  places  of  this  kind,  indicat- 
ing the  extent  to  which  the  evil  exists,  even  among  those  who  are 
willing  to  be  cured,  if  possible.  The  fees  charged  by  these  homes 
vary  from  $30  to  $200,  and  from  home  to  a  hospital  treatment. 
From  city  jails  we  have  quite  a  number  of  incomplete  returns,  all 
of  them  indicating  that  the  dockets  are  daily  interspersed  with 
charges  against  offending  drug  fiends.  A  most  interesting  report 
furnished  me  by  the  chairman  of  last  year's  committee  and  from  Dr. 
Geo.  L.  Wilkins,  of  the  Baltimore  city  jail,  is  so  comprehensive  that 
it  is  worthy  of  a  place  in  these  records ;  but  to  economize  space  I  will 
endeavor  to  condense  the  report  and  hope  not  to  destroy  its  value. 
The  period  involved  is  only  brief  and  relates  to  forty-seven  individ- 
uals, all  women  with  the  exception  of  four,  and  nearly  all  colored. 
The  oldest  female  was  forty-five  years,  the  youngest  twenty-one,  the 
average  age  twenty-four;  the  oldest  male  sixty  years,  youngest 
twenty-eight.  Ten  of  the  above  were  married.  In  six  cases  the 
drug  was  prescribed  by  physicians,  in  five  cases  crime  was  com- 
mitted to  obtain  the  drug.  Nine  used  morphine,  seventeen  cocaine, 
sixteen  used  both,  two  laudanum,  two  morphine  and  laudanum,  and 
the  others  all.  Two  used  all  methods  applied  in  its  use ;  in  the 
other  instances,  morphine  was  taken  by  mouth  and  cocaine  in  nose. 
The  doctor  states  that  they  invariably  stop  the  use  of  the  drugs 
without  any  particular  ill  effects.  For  fear  that  the  assertion  may 
be  omitted  where  it  possibly  more  properly  belongs,  we  make  it 
here,  namely,  that  those  who  think  they  cannot  break  themselves 
of  the  habit  are  those  who  are  free  to  obtain  the  drug  by  purchase 
or  otherwise. 
Acquirement  of  the  drug  habit  is  a  subject  that  we  must  carefully 
look  into  if  we  would  take  steps  to  stop  it. 
The  United  States  Government  permits  the  importation  of  smok- 
ing opium  for  no  better  reason  than  the  vender  has  for  selling  it  and 
excuses  himself  by  saying,  if  I  don't  my  neighbor  will — the  public 
has  not  been  benefited,  I  have  allowed  my  competitor  to  take  my 
profit. 
