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Show MARSHALS RAID I 72 BIG CITIES I Simultaneous Arrests of 173 Physicians, Surgical M Practitioners, Proprietors or Agents Concerns M For Criminal Practice or Sale of Drugs. M PACIFIC COAST HOTBED OF CHINALIiY I Mass of Evidence Obtained Against Accused Per- sons Scores of Complaints By Postof f ice De- partment From Respectable Women. , M Washington, I-.ov 20. Poatoffice Inspectors and United States marshals mar-shals in 72 leading cities of the country coun-try began today practically simultaneous simulta-neous raids for the arrest of 173 persons charged with using the malls to promote criminal medical practices practic-es or the Bale of drugs and Instruments Instru-ments used for Illegal purposes." The number of arrests to be made In the respective cities follows: New York 2, Buffalo 3, Pittsburg 7, Chicago 3, Fort Worth 4, St. Louis 3, Omaha A, Oklahoma City 5. Portland Port-land jOregon) 9, Denver 5, Seattle SI Spokane 5, San Francisco 7, Oakland S, Los Angeles 3, San Jose 3, Mobile Mo-bile 3. Marietta (Ohio) 3, Dallas 3, Two each In Albany, Washington, Memphis, Birmingham, Cleveland, Steubenvlllo (Ohio), Duluth, Winona (Minn.), San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans, Kansas City, Topeka, Alameda Ala-meda (Cal). One each In Atlanta, Cincinnati, Toledo, Minneapolis, Galveston, Salt Lake City, Ithaca and Elmlra (N. Y), East Orange (N. J ), Lancaster and Pine Bank (Pa.), Cumberland (Md.), Charleston and Columbia (S. C), Jacksonville (Fla.), Columbus, Springfield, Mount Vernon, Dayton and Convoy (Ohio), Fort Wayne and Terre Haute (Ind.), Peoria (111.), Kalamazoo Kal-amazoo and Iron River (Mich.), Hol-den Hol-den (Mo.), Muskogee (Okla.), Wichita Wichi-ta (Kan.), Council Bluffs (Iowa), Bel-lingham, Bel-lingham, Crescent and Tacoma, (Wash.), Sacramento, Petaluraa, Fresno and Glendalo (Gal.). ; All or the arrests are to be made for alleged violation of section 211 of the penal code of the United States, which bars from the malls any vile or obscene matter, whether sealed or unsealed, any advertisement, letter or circular proposing or suggesting criminal crim-inal practices, or any packet containing contain-ing any substance, drug or thing intended in-tended to be used for immoral or unlawful un-lawful purposes. Raid Most Extonsive in History. Chief Inspector Robert Sharp of the postofflce department and many of his force of 390 Inspectors have beon working upon the cases for many months. The development of tho plans culminated in the most extensive raid In the history of any department of the government. Strict enforcement of municipal and state laws In the east Is said by the postal authorities to account for the comparatively few arrests In the large cities in that part of the country, hut it is said by the postofflce inspectors that a hotbed of this sort of criminality criminal-ity is in the Pacific coast states. Mass of Evidence. On the coast they had comparatively comparative-ly little difficulty in obtaining a mass of evidence asainst accused persons lu San Francisco a fictitious name was used by several well known physicians, phy-sicians, who employed a woman to do the necessary advertising and clerical cler-ical work. Cases were solicited by correspondence and by printed circulars circu-lars sent through the mails. Scores of complaints have been received b tho department from respecLible women wom-en complaining of the recolpt of this class of matter. I Approximately 20 per cent of those arrested today are so-called "pill doc-I doc-I tors" men who advertise their prac- tlce by correspondence or otherwise land send to their pationts, cither by I mall or by oxpress, various compounds in the form of pills or powders. Care-1 ful analysis of these compounds by the government authorities is sold to have disclosed that some of them are wholly Innocuous, while others arc dangerous poisous Under another section of tho pennl code, the sending of poisons through the mails Is expressly ex-pressly forbidden. One of the men accused 1b said to havo been the secretary of the board of health in tho city of his residence-He residence-He responded, it is said, to a decoy or test letter sent to him by the Inspectors, Inspect-ors, on tho stationary of the bard of health. He has been indicted, according accord-ing lo the reports of the' postoffico inspectors. Many Drug Houses Under Ban- Particular caro was taken by the Inspectors In collecting the evidence against business concerns drug houses and remedy companies. Tho men actually reported for the illicit correspondence and In this class It Is said many Indictments already have been returned As showing Iho difficulties encountered encoun-tered the following caso is cited by those who have conducted the inquiry. Knew They Were Violating Law. Interviews with the Inspectors of many of these practitioners indicated clearly that thej knew they wore violating vio-lating the luw and were doing the trading underground. In Chicago an Inspector called upon a physMan after having received from him .i response by mail to his decoy letter. The Inspector professed a desire de-sire to engage the doctor's services. The doctor wa.s cautious and the Inspector In-spector was called upon to show the let tor hfi hod receded. It was in the ah'yalclan's own handwriting. Evi dently suspicious, ho snatched the M letter from the Inspector's hand, tore H It tvIco across and threw it into the H wastebaskct. Subsequently the In- H spector returned to the office" In th? H temporary absence of the doctor, ac- IH cured the strips aud pasted them to- H gethor. That letter constitutes an lm- jH llortant link in tho chain of evidenco H on which the doctor was Indicted. H Criminal Practice Must End. H It is the expressed determination of H the postal authorities to put an end H to the promotion by mail of criminal H practices and of the traffic In drugs H and Instruments on which a ban is jH placed by law. Postmaster General H Hitchcock said today that every case iH against an alleged violator of the law H would be pressed vigorously and ev- jH ery effort made to send the culprit. If j convicted, to the penitentiary. H |