100 years ago in The Record

Monday, Dec. 10, 1917

The Burger home at 514 Sixth Avenue, Lansingburgh, “turned [from] a house of morning into a home of thanksgiving” after The Record confirms that Seaman Philip J. Burger survived the sinking of an American destroyer last week. At age 21, Burger is a fouryear veteran of the U.S. Navy. “His career, since joining the navy, has been enviable in many respects,” our reporter writes. “On two occasions he was given very creditable mention for the performance of his duty, and since this country entered the war has been on several trips to European waters, being a member of the crew of ships doing patrol duty in the submarine zone.” Burger served on board the USS Jacob Jones. On December 6, during a run from France to Ireland, the destroyer was sunk by a German submarine, with 66 officers and men lost. The Jacob Jones is the first American destroyer to be sunk since the U.S declared war on Germany last April. Burger’s name “was among the first of those who were reported as missing and his family as well as friends in this city gave him up for lost,” our writer notes. The Burgers received a telegram from the Navy yesterday announcing that Burger was among 43 men who made it into life rafts and were subsequently picked up British ships. “In spite of the fact [that] the telegram was received by Burger’s family shortly after 3 o’clock yesterday afternoon, it was not until notified of the Associated Press report by The Record that the family could believe it was true the boy was among the survivors,” our paper reports today.

The war on drugs

Charles A. Raymond of Cohoes is sentenced to six months in jail in Troy police court this morning for possession of more than $300 worth of morphine. Raymond was arrested in the Mansion House hotel by Detective Joseph H. Brophy, who’s been battling drug traffic in Troy for more than a decade. Brophy tells The Record that “There really is no difference in the number of victims of the drug habit in this city” since the enactment of strict federal anti- drug laws in 1914, compared to “other days when the drug could be obtained more freely.” At most, enforcement of the new rules has “checked the growth of the army of addicts.” While many Americans blame alcohol for much of the country’s crime, Brophy says that, compared to the drug peddler, “the saloon fades into the backroom. He is responsible for more crime than the rum seller a thousand times.”