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The New York Times June 4, 1955
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U.S. HELD UNABLE TO BAR NARCOTICS
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Senators Hear World Supply Is Just Too Large to Keep All Out of This Nation
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Special to The New York Times.
WASHINGTON, JUNE 3-- The world supply of narcotics is so large that it is
regarded as impossible to keep all of it out of the United States.
This opinion was expressed today by the country's top fighters against illegal narcotics.
Harry F. Anslinger, Federal Narcotics Commissioner, told a Senate Judiciary subcommittee that "if you had the Army, the Navy, the Coast Guard, the F.B.I., the Customs Service and our [narcotics] service, you would not stop heroin from coming through the Port of New York."
Ralph Kelly, Commissioner of Customs, agreed that "the world supply of narcotics is appallingly large." He said that "the world is simply so heavily supplied with illicit narcotics that we can hardly have a reasonable hope of keeping them all out of this country."
The subcommittee is starting a country-wide survey of the narcotics traffic with testimony by Federal officials dealing with the problem. It also heard Warren R. Olney 3d, Assistant Attorney General describe the laws used by the Government in its battle against the traffic.
Mr. Anslinger testified that all the illegal narcotics peddled in the country with the exception of that obtained by robbing drug stores or forging medical prescriptions, came from abroad.
To combat it, he said, the Narcotics Bureau has four men in Europe. Customs Bureau men perform the work in the Far East and Mexico.
Senator Price Daniel, Democrat of Texas, subcommittee chairman, asked if the bureau could do more work if Congress would appropriate more money so it could hire more men.
Mr. Anslinger agreed that this would help. He estimated that his men stopped about 40 per cent of the illegal narcotics business "right at its source."
Mr. Kelly testified that 100 per cent pure illicit heroin could be bought in Hong Kong for the equivalent of $60 an ounce, which contains 437-1/2 grains.
In Washington, he said, the addict pays at least $1 a "bindle" of one grain, running about 5 per cent pure. Thus the ounce costing $60 in Hong Kong can be sold in Washington for $8,750, a profit of about 14,600 per cent.
"Comparisons like this are usually adduced to show the moral enormity of the narcotic traffic," Mr. Kelly said. "I submit that they show something else.
"The only reason why the addict in this country has to pay 146 times the Hong Kong price lies in the law enforcement activities of Federal and other enforcement officers. If we can just keep this price up, I shall continue to feel encouraged."
Mr. Olney suggested that evidence obtained by wiretapping should be admitted by Federal courts for use in narcotics cases. Such evidence is not now admissible.
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