The Delinquent (Vol. IV, No. 3, March 1914)

The Delinquent is a 1914 monthly issued by the National Prisoners’ Aid Association, offering a snapshot of early‑20th‑century concerns about drug addiction in America. Framed as a platform for reformers, the periodical blends investigative reporting with earnest pleas for public action, reflecting the era’s growing awareness of narcotics as a social menace. Its pages capture the urgency felt by city officials, medical professionals, and civic leaders as they confront a problem that was rapidly expanding beyond the confines of prisons.

Centered on a reprinted New York Times piece by Edward Marshall, the issue surveys the rise of opium, morphine, cocaine, and heroin use across urban neighborhoods and even among schoolchildren. Readers encounter vivid accounts of how prescription practices and “cure‑all” medicines unintentionally fed the habit, and learn about nascent legislative efforts aimed at curbing the trade. The publication serves both as a historical document and a window into the moral and practical debates that shaped early drug‑policy reforms.