The SULTAN of the NIGHT
An Echo
Signs!
IT is as fair to Colonel Knott as it is to "N.Z. Truth," to emphasize that the indications of dope trafficking, whilst admittedly very strong, at present only specifically concern Dunedin. The colonel's allegations last year were embodied in more or less sweeping generalization. The question is: Does the Dunedin discovery reflect a Dominion-wide demand for drugs or is it merely local?
(From "N.Z. Truth's" Special Dunedin Representative.)
The minds of too many writers are filled with the all-mastering ecstasy of yellow perils, foreign drug-traffickers, and the like; their pens so clogged with conventional scares; their eyes so blind that, akin to ill-focussed cameras, they apprehend the distance but fail to remark the neighborhood near at hand. But there are young men and women in this country who bow down before the Sultan of the Night — the dealer in drugs.
YES, the peril of drug-taking among the youth of New Zealand is apparently very real, and organized, not alone by yellow men, but white devils as well. For devils they undoubtedly are. The proof? It is here, in abundance, and Dunedin has provided the example in object lessons which should awaken the people of this country to a danger that is not the outcome of feverish imaginings. Less than a year ago, Colonel Knott, an officer of the Salvation Army, made some startling declarations concerning the disquieting extent to which drugtaking had increased in New Zealand. The Colonel's allegations were promptly discredited, and the public was forced to the somewhat unwilling conclusion that the article was but another specimen of eloquent scaremongering. But was it? Unless the recent investigations
Society Scandal
of "N.Z. Truth" are nothing more than a collection of most extraordinary coincidences, then Colonel Knott has been upheld in almost every particular.
These inquiries were first inspired after "Truth" had unmasked the scandalous behavior on the part of "smart" young men at a certain bay in Dunedin, one of whom received the chastisement undoubtedly due to him.
One of the men who escaped similar punishment, was reputed to live upon the fruits of his persuasive powers over foolish youths possessed of a little money.
It was further suggested that he supplemented his "earnings" by purveying drugs to women who craved the exhilaration essential to their maintaining the pace set by their kind.
Discreet probings into the history of this man confirmed the general suspicion that, however intelligent his surreptitious operations upon gullible youth, there was scarcely the scope for satisfactorily maintaining his expensive mode of living.
The question then was: From what source did he derive this extra income?
Again, if the answer were that suggested by "Truth's" informant, what methods had been adopted?
And between question and answer reared the high wall of doubt as to how the system might be exposed.
It was later established that the suspect consorted with associates whose characters were not the most commendable of repute; that his own sallow face and general appearance bore the imprint of drug-taking.
But by what means did he succeed in conveying his deadly wares?
Here, indeed, was the problem, and one which took weeks to resolve, illicit dispensers of unwholesome stimulants being stealthy in movement and astute of method.
Consistent delving in the field or probability at length yielded the information that this man-about-town was a member of a supposedly select small club with somewhat dubious articles of association.
The activities of this particular club were not beyond suspicion, it being suggested that the members, of both sexes, were little more than immoralists, and that some were "snow" addicts.
By Appointment
But there remained the problem of discovering by what means this "club" was able to consistently indulge in the frightful practices which can have but one conclusion — complete degeneracy and wrecked physique.
Curiously enough, the answer was forthcoming in two ways, under strange circumstances, and by sheer chance.
Shortly before eleven o'clock, on a bitter, wet November evening, a moderately well-dressed man about 35 years of age was seen standing at the corner of upper Dowling and Princes Streets, apparently waiting for someone to keep an appointment.
A passer-by was attracted by the semi-swaying posture of the man on the corner, the staring, lack-lustre expression in his eyes, the pallid face; in short, the pitiable condition and attitude of a confirmed debauchee.
In view of the concentrated inquiry which had been instituted on the subject of dope-running in Dunedin, the momentary attention drawn to the shaking wretch changed to a feeling of intense interest in the man's subsequent movements, especially as the hour of eleven had not yet struck, and to all intents there was someone expected.
Walking some fifty yards further along the road, the observer crossed the street, walked quickly back some 30 yards and took shelter in a doorway, just as 11 o'clock sounded from the post office clock tower.
A moment later, and a young man hurriedly descended the steps which lead down from Tennyson Street to Princes Street, glanced nervously from left to right, and then joined the man who waited.
Greetings were exchanged between the two, the newcomer parted with some money, received something in exchange and then, taking hasty leave of the man he met barely a minute before, swiftly remounted the steps.
Owing to the distance, and the fact that rain was falling heavily, it was difficult to ascertain just what the "something" represented. That the transaction was surreptitious is undoubted.
The man who received the money buttoned the collar of his trench coat and, seemingly still half stupid from the effects of his narcotic indulgences, walked very slowly northwards
The watcher who witnessed this strange meeting waited until the two men had passed from sight, then ran across the street, and, having reached the steps, commenced to climb the first short flight.
At the top of the second section of steps his attention was kept near the locality where the discovery was made, no confirmation was forthcoming.
Night after night the neighborhood was watched for a repetition of the mysterious appointment but it was not until exactly a week afterwards that suspicion became confirmed by fact, and the human wreck stood once more at the appointed place, to be again met by the same man.
The second occasion was practically a replica of the first — a rapid exchange, and an equally hurried departure.
Although "Truth's" representative, to whom the matter was referred, tried his utmost to get a glimpse of the men concerned in this ghastly contract, he was unsuccessful, and it is likely that in his efforts to achieve this he was seen by the infamous wretch who was thus plying his trade, for neither of the two men was again seen under similar circumstances.
But it was established beyond doubt that the human fiends responsible for setting such machinery into motion were using the barrels of cheap fountain pens as instruments to their nefarious operations among the youth of Dunedin.
Those particles found inside the pen lying on the steps happened to be "snow" — what further proof could be necessary?
With the rubber sac, or tube, removed, the barrel of an average fountain pen would hold about two drachms of either cocaine or heroin — both deadly in their effects on the nervous system — which, (portion missing)
was drawn to the scattered parts of a cheap fountain pen lying on the landing and apparently dropped from the inside pocket of a man's coat.
But this seemingly innocent explanation was quickly negatived when it was found that although the gilt nib was slightly damaged, the nib section was wrenched apart from the barrel, whilst inside the barrel were a few grains of a white powdery substance! Could this be a mere coincidence, or was it an explanation of the strange incident witnessed only a few minutes before?
For some days afterwards there was no conclusive explanation of the mystery, and although a strict surveillance (portion missing)
although valued by chemists at not more than 5/- per drachm, would in all probability be sold to addicts at any figure up to 2000 per cent. profit. The humiliating element about this insidious traffic is that although the two well-dressed Celestials are believed to be concerned, the major risks are undertaken by white men — addicts who themselves have fallen within the seductive radius of this deadly, ruinous fascination
AN alleged fountain-pen, but a proved container for dope; a mysterious book, within whose pages was a cunning device for secreting a phial. What is the reasonable deduction from this?
Is this mere coincidence? or, rather, are we, as the judge would tell the jury, entitled as "reasonable men" to say these are indications of the canker of a widespread dope traffic?
And it seems, according to one who must, of necessity, be nameless, that the incidence of this insane indulgence is by no means accidental.
For instance, who is the man with an avowed intention of booking his passage to Sydney early in the year — and for one very definite reason? Does he remember a certain afternoon when, half tipsy, and in a moment of over-confidence, he boasted of knowing how to get drugs through illicit avenues into this country?
And does a woman from Timaru pay periodic visits to Australia with the identical object in view?
Can a member of a party at Broad Bay explain away his glazed eyes and pallid face — so common among dope fiends — as he walked slowly up George Street, late one afternoon?
Or are all these things sheer coincidence?
But the saddest part of a very sordid business is the number of women who are secret addicts — and they are not all elderly women seeking the alchemy of rejuvenation and artificial vivacity.
Strange Discovery
And this damning fact was brought to the notice of "N.Z. Truth" under the strangest of circumstances, in a way absolutely unexpected.
One night, two men walked into a cafe, ordered supper, and whilst awaiting the food, they took stock of those who came and went, and meanwhile engaged in a conversation suitable to their common interests.
Quite inadvertently, one man remarked the deep earnestness with which a young man and woman, whose ages would be in the neighborhood of 28, were discussing a book lying beside the former's plate.
Unobtrusively, the observer drew his companion's attention to where the other couple sat, and as he did so witnessed what appeared to be one of the most peculiar transactions ever effected in a Dunedin cafe.
Opening her handbag, the young woman extracted some notes and handed them under the table to the man who sat opposite her.
In return she received the book, laid it on her lap, and then, glancing around the practically deserted room, quickly opened the novel and began turning the pages.
Thoroughly mystified by this time, the two men covertly watched her from where they sat, and were astounded to see her remove what seemed to be a small bottle or phial from the interior of the book, place the bottle in her handbag, close the book and place it on the seat beside her.
Five minutes later the woman, visibly nervous and highly strung, rose to go, and when her companion had paid their bill the pair left the premises. But the book remained on the chair. Whether, in her excitement, she had forgotten the existence of the novel, or whether its use had become exhausted, is not known, but one of the men who witnessed the procedure soon grained possession of it. It is now in the possession of "Truth."
A subsequent examination showed that a small cavity, some two inches square, had been cut from the centre of the novel, but there was no positive evidence as to what had reposed there, although the probable answer to the question was not difficult to frame. Was this another link . . . ?
Fabulous Profit
But if this furnishes no proof of system, what is the explanation?
At the very least it illustrates the ingenuity with which drug-runners introduce their victims to a foul and devastating practice, and the lengths to which their, agents will /jo in order to extort the profits arising out of the weak-willed.
Another method, said to have been adopted from time to time, is that of sending drugs concealed in newspapers, and mailed in the ordinary way.
Under this system, it is estimated that cocaine or heroin, worth as much as £25 to some poor wretch who had acquired the craving for these stimulants, could be sent over from Australia or some foreign country and be practically certain to elude detection.
It will be seen that the solution of such an enigma, with its frightful possibilities of untold human wreckage and life-long misery, is, indeed, a difficult one to unravel, and in view of what has been related it seems that the contemptible organizers of this infamous traffic will bring any influence, employ the most ingenious methods, in order to gain their ends.
Their trails are most carefully covered, but there will come the day of striking a balance, when the shadow of retribution will overcast their steps and justice set the seal to an evil record of shame and humiliation. -NZ Truth, 5/1/1928.
Strong stuff indeed, from the "NZ Truth." And what is indicated by the reference to a previous statement from Colonel Knott of the Salvation Army?
GIRLS AND DRUGS.
ALLEGED SECRET SOCIETY.
SOME INCIDENTS IN AUCKLAND.
STATEMENTS IN DUNEDIN.
(Per Press Association.) DUNEDIN, This Day.
Inquiries among social workers in reference to Colonel Knott's statement as to a secret drug society [reported on page 6 of this issue] elicited varying replies.
Ensign Coombs (Salvation Army) stated that she knew nowhere where drugs were obtainable in Dunedin.
The Rev. Bryan King spoke similarly.
Sister Nora (secretary to the Society (Secretary to the Society for the Protection of Women and Children) said: "I know girls do take drugs, but where they get them I do not know." She added that she had not heard of a secret society. Girls had come to her drugged, saying that men had persuaded them to take drugs and pills.
Brigadier Burton (Salvation Army) confirmed the story, stating that one of their Auckland officers got in touch with a girl there, obtaining sufficient information to lead her to a chemist's shop, where she got chocolate which, the Brigadier thought, was being analysed now. The Brigadier added that he had been informed there was in New Zealand a secret society whose purpose was to trap innocent girls, in one Auckland case a girl was found insensible in a public lavatory. The Army Samaritan Officer elicited the information' that the girl had been to a garden dance, and inquiry revealed that she had been offered, and accepted, chocolates.
Several Dunedin chemists, interviewed, stated that normally there was little inquiry here for drugs, and none were given. During the Exhibition, however, when many overseas visitors were here, the inquiry was considerably greater. -Ashburton Guardian, 5/6/1926.
DRUG SOCIETIES?
SECRET ORGANISATIONS IN N.Z.
SENSATIONAL INDICTMENT OF OUR YOUTH
SALVATION ARMY OFFICIAL’S CHARGES
[Special to the ‘Star.’] CHRISTCHURCH, June 5.
Declaring that organisations, composed of young people of both sexes, are in existence throughout New Zealand for the purpose, of distributing drugs and of living immoral lives generally, Colonel Knott, chief secretary of the Salvation Army, stated last evening that what he had seen of the dominion since his arrival from Canada three months ago had been a great surprise and disappointment to him.
“Our experience goes to show that, while things are not improving to any extant, it must be borne in mind that the country is still suffering from war effects,” said Colonel Knott. “We are trying to find ways and means of helping the young people, but our greatest difficulty is that, amongst the young folk of this country, there are secret societies, and we have found it very hard to get the facts from members of these.
“Yes! This is true; there are secret societies composed of young persons in New Zealand. In fact, I will say they are prevalent. It would open the eyes of many people if they only knew the true state of affairs. The inspector of police at Christchurch knows all about it.
“What are these societies doing? They are making drug addicts of young people, and there are other sins, too; and we can’t get them to talk. One young woman told us only the other day that she would sooner throw herself in the river than tell us what we wanted to know. She was scared — terrorised. She was full of the drug, and was threatening to commit suicide and to do all sorts of rash things. She was bound to secrecy, and would not tell. That is all they tell us — that they are bound to secrecy. This sort of thing is prevalent, I say, right through the country. Oh, it would surprise you. It is really distressing. We are doing our best to save these young people, and I think I can say that things are improving.”
DECLARATIONS, DOUBTS, AND DENIALS
opinions of social workers
"I know that girls do take drugs, but where they get them from I don’t know.” Sister Nora, secretary of the Society for the Protection of Women and Children, made this statement to-day. She added that she had not heard of the existence of the secret societies. Girls had come to her drugged, and had said that men had persuaded them to take the drugs and pills. She had not met any girl who had consumed a drugged confection.
“I think the social workers should sift the matter to the last grain,” she stated. She was aware that certain chemists in Dunedin were selling pills and other drugs.”
DISCOVERY OF THE SOCIETY
“That is so. We have come into contact with it,” stated Brigadier Burton, of the Salvation Army, Dunedin corps, when he was shown the message to-day. “ One of our Auckland officers got into touch with one of those girls and got sufficient out of her about the business to enable her (the officer) to go to the chemist whom she named. On going into the chemist’s shop she was nonplussed at first, as the lady who was serving asked her what number she wanted. The officer gathered herself instantly and gave a number. That was all right, and she was handed the chocolates. In the middle of the chocolates, almost unnoticed, she found a drug. I think the chocolate and its contents are being analysed now.”
“Personally I am not sufficiently in touch with the business to give an authoritative statement, but I can say that we have these cases in hand,” stated the brigadier. "Those who have experienced the cases have told me that there is in existence in New Zealand a secret society, and that the purpose of the order is to trap innocent girls.
“One of the first cases to arouse our attention was in Auckland,” he continued. “ One of the girls was found insensible in a public lavatory. Our Samaritan Officer was notified, and took the girl away. All that the girl could say on the subject was that she did not know how she had got to the lavatory, and that she had been to one of the garden dances for the first time, apparently. That was all she could remember. That, of course, led the army to make some inquiries. We inquired as to what had taken place. The girl had certainly been offered and had accepted chocolates while at the dance, and further inquiries led to the discovery that these were on sale at certain chemists. And, as I said before, one of our officers went to the chemists on the advice of one of these girls and purchased the chocolates.
“Christchurch appears to have been the first place where this business has come under police notice, judging from the remarks of Colonel Knott that the Inspector of Police there knows of the existence of the organisation.” The brigadier concluded: "I know that the police are quietly pursuing the matter.”
NO DEFINITE STATEMENTS
“I know of nowhere where drugs are obtainable in Dunedin, neither have I had any direct statement that they are obtainable.”
When Ensign Coombs told a reporter that to-day she added: “The loose living among the young people here is bad enough, but I honestly think Dunedin, bad as it is, is cleaner than other towns. But comparisons are odious. We have fewer girls before the court, so far as I know, and I have reason to believe that I have fewer girls than any other Salvation Army officer.”
NOT AWARE OF ADDICTS
Most emphatically the Rev. V. G. Bryan King, of the Anglican Men’s Mission, declared that he was not aware of drug taking among young people in Dunedin, or the existence of the secret society.
“I certainly don’t know of it. I have never come across a single case of a drug addict in Dunedin. I know that there is a certain amount of drinking among the young people; there is certainly more drinking among girls, but little among the young men, as compared with a few years ago. You have only to look at the streets of Dunedin. It is a rare thing to see a drunken man knocking about now. But, personally, I have seen no drug taking. I will say this: the chemists of Dunedin are not the class that would do anything in the way of drug selling. I know many, and they are a fine lot.”
“Have you heard, or do you know, of the existence of a distributing secret society?” Mr King was asked.
He replied: “Most decidedly not. Some people get some strange ideas about secret organisations.”
CHEMISTS REFUSE SALES
It’s a ton of salt to a pinch of pepper that no chemist in Dunedin sells drugs to young people.
In that way a chemist answered a question as to the amount of traffic in drugs. He was sure that no chemist in Dunedin would run the risk of being caught.
The number of drug addicts in Dunedin was practically nil, he said. A “fiend” could be recognised immediately. Inquiries were made al times, but the chemists refused to sell the narcotics. Various ruses were adopted by the drug taker, but he receives no sympathy from the chemists. One man had argued with him for nearly two hours because he had refused to sell morphia.
“Give me three grains. I’ll pay you £20,” he told the chemist. He was frantic in his desire for the drug. The chemist was adamant, and the “fiend” placed the cash on the counter. He said he wanted it for his racehorse, and would not desist in his request for the drug. The man did not get the morphia.
Chemists experienced people who obtained a prescription containing drugs from doctors and hawked it round the chemists shops. The dispensers were on the alert, and when they saw the prescription frequently marked by various chemists, they communicated with their fellow professional men and issued a warning that the man was taking the prescription as a drug.
“In Auckland it is another matter. A chemist there tells me that a Dunedin chemist would be surprised if he saw the amount of drug taking,” The local dispenser stated the people of Auckland were a different type to the Dunedin people. Auckland was the landing place of Australians and Americans, and they demanded drugs.
During the Exhibition, more enquiry for drugs had been made here. The would-be purchasers were not local people, but tourists and visitors. He cited the case of a woman to show the stand taken by the Dunedin chemists. The woman had stated that she was a registered nurse, and wanted a drug for her hospital. The chemist refused to serve her, as he had no proof. “I demand it,” the woman replied. “You can demand it, but getting it is another thing,” the chemist retorted, and the woman left the shop without her small parcel.
As to drug taking among the young people, three chemists stated this morning that no such habit was indulged in in Dunedin. -Evening Star, 5/6/1926.
UNDERGROUND VICE.
We think that Colonel Knott, Chief Secretary of the Salvation Army in New Zealand, should have said more or said less on the subject on which a sensational pronouncement was made by him on Saturday. The colonel has boon only three months in New Zealand after coming from Canada, and he stated that what he had seen of conditions of immorality in this country had been a great surprise and disappointment to him. The most alarming allegation which he made was that there are secret societies in New Zealand, formed of young people, for the purpose of their indulgence in drugs and the use of them to assist another vice. Such societies, he stated, were prevalent. It was the hardest thing to obtain evidence of them from their victims, who were terrorised; but the inspector of police at Christchurch knew all about the matter. If the inspector at Christchurch knows anything about the subject he will not say what he knows, except to his departmental superiors. The general tone of his reply, when he was questioned, does not suggest that the community is losing anything in the way of hair-raising revelations by this somewhat unfortunate intrusion of red tape. The police in Dunedin do not know anything about “secret societies,” and none of the social workers or doctors in Wellington or Christchurch or Dunedin who have been interrogated know anything about such an organisation. Only Brigadier Burton, of the Dunedin Salvation Army, among all those questioned, seems even to have heard of such a combination — a sort of miniature Ku Klux Klan, wo must suppose, for the promotion of immoral, instead of professedly moral, objects. And his belief, or inclination to believe, in it seems to have been based largely, if not solely, on one Auckland case of a girl’s experience, which, as it is reported, leaves no need for the conjecture of any such organised cause. There are drug addicts to be found in New Zealand, doubtless, as in other countries, though it is satisfactory to have assurances from those in the best position to know that they are to be found hardly, if at all, among the resident population of Dunedin; and that elsewhere, where they may be more numerous, they are not young people. There is enough wrong with juvenile morality, and enough danger in that uncontrolled “desire for pleasure at any cost” declaimed against by a Wellington social worker, to make an acute problem at the present time; but we believe that Colonel Knott has been imposed upon. In the face of the almost unanimous lack of knowledge regarding them of those who have been much longer in New Zealand than he, and until new evidence is afforded, we shall be warranted in concluding that his “secret organisations” for the promotion of vice do not exist. It may be that, as a Christchurch worker has suggested, the schedule of the Poisons Act which sets forth the list of drugs which must not be sold except under severe restrictions now needs expanding. Regulations made under the Consolidated Act of 1908 seem to have been very heedfully designed for the protection of the public, but now drugs have been discovered since that time. Legislation has been promised to amend the Act, and that should be done with the best advice. But a Royal Commission will hardly be needed to inquire into Colonel Knott’s allegations. -Evening Star, 7/6/1926.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND DRUGS
DIVERGENCE OF OPINION IN WELLINGTON
(United Press]Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day.
With reference to Colonel Knott’s statement telegraphed from Christchurch, there is a divergence of opinion as to how far the same conditions apply to Wellington. Rev. Fielden Taylor, who is an authority, says he has done a lot of work among the young and has never seen the slightest thing to suggest they take drugs.
Mrs Glover, female probation officer, however, supports Colonel Knott. She alleges girls are dance-mad, pleasure-mad, and paint-and-powder mad. Young girls in distress often come to her in their trouble and say they must have been drugged, and knew nothing about it. Mrs Glover does not know of any secret organisations, but blames the desire for pleasure at any cost and want of proper upbringing at home.
DUNEDIN STATEMENTS
DUNEDIN, This Day. The Superintendent of Police states that he has received no intimation of the existence of a drug distributing organisation among young people. Chief-Detective Lewis said the same, adding: “Somebody has been telling a tale and he might be confusing us with Buenos Ayres.” -Nelson Evening Mail, 7/6/1926.
IT IS SIMPLY A LOT OF TOSH!
REV CALDER REPLIES TO COLONEL KNOTT.
AUNT SALLY MADE OF AUCKLAND’S YOUTH.
(Special to the “Star.") AUCKLAND June 8.
The youth of Auckland seems to have been made more or less of an Aunt Sally by southern social workers in speaking of the use of drugs. Inquiries locally do not bear out these statements, the evidence going to show that there are few drug addicts in Auckland, and these are not young men or girls, but elderly people.
“Simply a lot of tosh,’' remarked the Rev Jasper Calder, and “Nothing of the kind has come to my notice,” remarked a magistrate when a reporter made a round of inquiries this morning in order to ascertain if there was any foundation locally for the assertions made by Colonel C. Knott, Chief Secretary of the Salvation Army at Christchurch.
“TOSH, ALL TOSII."
“I don’t suppose there is anyone in this city more closely in touch with what one might call the underworld than myself, and I can say emphatically that nothing has come under my notice to lead me to believe that there is any truth whatever in what this Salvation Army colonel asserts,” said the Rev Jasper Calder, Anglican City Missioner. “Tosh, all tosh! Here, Sister Pat, what do you think about it?” asked the Missioner, summoning his fellow worker.
“I don’t think there's any truth in it at all,’’ replied Sister Pat. “In two and a-half years I've had to deal with only three cases where drugs were concerned, yet I have been interested in hundreds of cases where girls and women have gone astray.” “And in six years I haven’t had more than ten cases at the outside,” said Mr Calder. “This looks to me like exaggeration. Possibly the colonel has been led to make this statement without any firsthand knowledge. He has been in the country only four months. Of course, we all know that when a girl has been betrayed by some scoundrel and then appeals for assistance she may concoct a story that she has been ‘doped’ or drugged by the man. However, when she knows she will be helped she usually admits, when cross-examined, that her story about ‘dope’ was trumped up for the occasion, and that when she fell she had taken liquor of some sort, wine or a cocktail. I am pretty sure that if any secret society existed I would have some knowledge of it. You can dismiss that as ‘punk.’ There are a few drug addicts in this town, but they are all known, poor souls, and they are harming nobody but themselves.”
Staff-Captain Davies, of the Salvation Army, police court and gaol Samaritan worker, admitted that he could not speak on the subject at first-hand. He dealt with hundreds of cases among men but could not mention one where young men had fallen through drugs. At the same time he had reason to believe that there was some truth in the allegations made by the Chief Secretary.
A city chemist said that he did not remember ever having had a request for narcotics from young people. Twenty years ago, before the regulations with regard to drugs were tightened up. the position was somewhat different. In those days drugs were asked for more frequently. To-day chemists never supplied drugs unless a doctor’s prescription was produced.
SMUGGLING.
“I know that there is a certain amount of smuggling going on in connection with the Auckland-Suva trade, and a small quantity of cocaine finds its way into New Zealand through that channel,” said a Queen Street chemist.
“Do you think that the smugglers have established a secret distribution depot?” the chemist was asked.
“No, I do not. I don't think they are clever enough for that. They are only out to get a few shillings easily. I know the class of men who carry on this sort of thing. Not long ago one of them came into the shop and offered me thirty-two small bottles of cocaine, about eight ounces. Needless to say I sent him about his business pretty quickly. I admit that there are several young people in Auckland who are addicted to drugs, but their numbers are small. Speaking offhand, I suppose we have about ten inquiries in a month, not more. Some of those who want drugs appear to have pulled themselves together lately, as they have not been bothering us. We have to be very careful, as we can give drugs only when a doctor's prescription is tendered.
CUNNING OF DRUG ADDICTS.
“I have known drug addicts to be very cunning. They will proffer faked prescriptions, some of which are rather difficult to detect. Others ask for eyedrops, in order to get a solution containing a small quantity of cocaine. Others say they want the drug so that they may extract a tooth. They will go so far as to display the instrument with which they are going to perform the operation. Of course, such inquiries get no satisfaction here.”
Mr Edward Smith, chemist, of Karangahape Road, on looking over the Colonel's published remarks, said, “As a member of the Pharmacy Board of New Zealand, I can say that there appears to be no foundation in fact for what has been said in Christchurch. Colonel Knott has been in New Zealand for only four months, yet he has apparently discovered more in that time than the Pharmacy Board has discovered in four years. The whole thing appears to me to be quite unreasonable. Our board learned through the newspapers that narcotics were having a fairly wide sale in London some time ago. Illicit traders were selling a mixture of boracic acid and cocaine, which was termed ‘snow.’ I don't know if the position is as bad to-day as it was then. Next we heard that the trade had been introduced in Australia, but frankly I don't think it is serious there As far as New Zealand is concerned, we have no evidence of anything like that suggested by the Salvation Army Colonel.
“It seems unreasonable to suggest that a man would use a drug when liquor would produce the same effect.” continued Mr Smith. “As for doped chocolates or cigarettes, well, what are they doped with? There may be such things on the market, but no registered chemist would handle them. Personally I have no inquiries for drugs by young people. There are old drug addicts who are well known to everyone, but they are not the type that would be associated with a vicious secret organisation such as that suggested. They are isolated cases, and I thoroughly believe that only a very small percentage of New Zealanders have formed the habit." -Star, 9/6/1926.
DRUG MENACE
STARTLING ALLEGATION
INVERCARGILL SALVATIONIST’S VIEWS
EXISTENCE OF SECRET SOCIETY RE-AFFIRMED.
A fresh and startling contribution to the alarming stories that have been published recently on the subject of the drug menace in New Zealand was made last evening by Captain Taylor, an officer of the Salvation Army in Invercargill. Addressing a gathering of several hundred people in the Army Hall the Captain declared emphatically that drug-taking was prevalent in many centres and that addicts did not find much difficulty in obtaining “dope.”
In opening his address, Captain Taylor, who has spent many years in social work in northern towns, said that his right to speak on such a subject as this had been questioned. As the representative of the Salvation Army in Invercargill he felt it not merely a right but a duty to tell what he knew about the menace.
“Much ink has been splashed about in the newspapers from one end of New Zealand to the other,” he continued. “A good deal of what has been said has been exaggerated, but not by the officers of the Salvation Army. I have read accounts in all the leading newspapers from Auckland to Invercargill, and to say the least of it they are contradictory. The greater part of the statements attributed to Colonel Knott did not come from him at all. The Colonel was merely the mouthpiece of an officer of high standing in the Army, and if I were to mention his name you would realise that he was perfectly reliable and one who would not dream of making such a sensational charge without sufficient justification.” A point had been raised, however, that as Colonel Knott had been in New Zealand for only three months, his knowledge of the subject must still be limited. As a matter of fact, the Colonel had had many years’ experience of this type of work in the East, the United States, and other parts of the world, and surely he was entitled to speak. But the true position was that in making the allegations he was advised by another officer.
A STARTLING QUESTION.
Continuing, the speaker discounted the denials of chemists that drug-taking was on the increase. “We have had columns of statements by chemists, who are probably quite reliable so far as their own businesses are concerned,” he said. “I do not like to say that they are going in for illegal practices, but it would not require much searching in the Dominion to find places where drugs can be obtained. Before twelve months are over some of these gentlemen may have to answer for their misdeeds. Prosecutions, convictions and imprisonment are not unknown among their ranks.
“If I asked the question at this meeting,” declared the speaker, “I know I would find one or more who could tell me where to get drugs. I do not say for any illegal purpose, but drugs can be got, and used for any purpose the purchaser desires.”
Referring to the attitude of social workers towards the story, the Captain said that a great number of interviews had been published, but it was noticeable that all the denials came from one particular section. When one knew a little of these people and their methods one was not surprised at the statement. Their ideas and ideals of what was right and what was wrong were vastly different from those of other people. On the other hand there were many people from Auckland to Dunedin who were most reliable and experienced, and who could give testimony that conditions were much worse than the average person ever dreamed. It was a well-known fact that to-day vice was more rampant than ever before in the history of the country.
A CASE CITED.
The Captain, continuing, said that recently he received a letter from a friend who wrote that some time ago he met in Auckland a young man whom he had known previously. He was almost destitute and at a low ebb, and he confessed that he had been living an immoral life at a certain place. Furthermore, the young man said that sweets containing drugs were obtainable at this place.
“The place,” added the Captain, “has since been shifted to another portion of the city. I can state positively from the first-hand information of this officer that there is more at the back of the affair than the Press or public knows. From this and other cases I am forced to believe that a society is on foot to sell drugs to young people. I will declare that it exists for the straight-out purpose of making young people slaves to the habit and good customers for some unscrupulous individuals. I am not dealing in broad generalities, but in facts which I know to be true.”
In concluding his address, the Captain made reference to another problem which has been agitating the minds of social workers — the cabaret and dance hall. Many parents scoffed at the idea of it being dangerous for their daughters to go to the cabaret, saying that they would obey the precept to go straight. "The straight path,” said the speaker, "has led many of them to my door. In reality, we are now living in perilous times. 'We must redeem the time, for the days are evil.'" -Southland Times, 21/6/1926.
So what are we to make of this? Claims and debunking make for a murky story, but the "Truth" reporter certainly saw something in the way of a transaction at Dowling st and a hollow book in a Dunedin cafe. Perhaps this is a story - thanks to the ability of a blog to be revised - to be completed some time in the future.
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