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The New York Times November 25, 1953
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CITY YOUTH ADDICTS ESTIMATED AT 7,500
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Welfare Worker's Testimony to Senate Group Clashes With Anslinger's Figure of 748
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By CLAYTON KNOWLES
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Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, Nov. 24-- A trained welfare worker testified today that more
than 7,500 youths in New York were narcotics addicts.
Mrs. Lynn Stratton Morris, representing the Committee on Use of Narcotics Among Teenagers,
said that the Welfare and Health Council of New york, the committee's parent organization,
believed that this figure represented "an educated if conservative guess."
Her testimony before a Senate Judiciary subcommittee investigating juvenile delinquency
clashed with that of Harry J. Anslinger, Commissioner of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics.
He testified yesterday that New York youths under 21 years old, known by police to be
users, numbered only 748 for 1952. His figure for the entire country came to 3,616 for
1952.
In presenting her figure, which she agreed represented a projection, Mrs. Morris urged
that narcotics addiction be made a reportable disease, and that hospitalization facilities
be improved. She also called for the establishment of screening clinics and an aftercare
program supported by Federal-state funds.
Return of Woodshed Urged
More homely advice for the investigating group was given by John Gutknecht, State's
Attorney of Cook county, Illinois, which embraces Chicago. He urged "more frequent
visitations to the woodshed" as a prime curb on juvenile delinquency.
"When the woodshed comes back to its own," he said, "we can forget the
jail."
The Right Rev. Msgr. John O'Grady, secretary of the National Conference of Catholic
Charities, testified that the rehabilitation of the whole neighborhood and community was
essential to the correction of the growing national problem to which the committee was
addressing itself.
He said that he realized this called for "a complete reorientation of the social
programs of American communities."
The widespread use of "bennies," or stimulant drugs of which emphetamine [sic]
sulphate is most common, at "goofball" parties was described by Representative
Robert H. Cunningham of the Oklahoma Legislature. He directed an investigation of juvenile
drug use in Oklahoma City.
Mr. Cunningham told of leading raids on teenage drug and sex parties and reported that,
unlike other testimony, the youths were "not from the wrong side of the track."
Control Bill Held Killed
He said that a strong controls bill passed the Oklahoma House, but that when it got before
the Senate, "the big drug interests from the East and New York set up headquarters in
the hotels." He added that "whisky flowed, fast talk flowed and the bill was
killed."
Edward J. Mowery, Pulitzer Prizewinning ScrippsHoward reporter, also took issue with
figures used by Commissioner Anslinger. He remarked that Mr. Anslinger was
"poohpoohing a very vital problem."
Senator Estes Kefauver, Democrat of Tennessee, said that he believed the Narcotic Bureau
should have "more agents, a central school, something like the Federal Bureau of
Investigation has for training agents, and more dynamic leadership from Washington for the
states."
This testimony came as the subcommittee completed the first series of hearings in which
it sought to relate narcotics addiction to the juvenile delinquency problem.
Senator Robert C. Hendrickson, Republican of New Jersey and subcommittee chairman, said
that the nest set of hearings, opening Dec. 10 here, would deal with delinquency in the
District of Columbia.
Senator Hendrickson said that other hearings would be held in New York and Boston, though
dates had not been set. Field hearings will be expanded, he added, if more money is made
available to the committee.
Mr. Gutknecht told the subcommittee that if the group went to Chicago, it "could not
help but be of service to us." Mr. Cunningham also invited hearings in Oklahoma city.
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