Author: Williams, Henry Smith. (1863-1943). American author, doctor and lawyer.
Title: Note Paper Inscribed and Signed by American Doctor and Author Henry Smith Williams Who Advocated More Humane Treatment of Drug Addicts.
Description: February 15th, 1931. 1931. - A piece of cream note paper, approximately 8-1/4 inches high by 5-1/4 inches wide, is inscribed and signed in black ink: "To Seymour Halpern / with all good wishes / Henry Smith Williams" followed by his address and the date 'Feb. 15 , 1931". There is a short tear to the top edge of the paper with a small crease & tear and a partial paper-clip mark to its right edge. The bottom edge is slightly creased. Good.

Williams is sending his autograph to future congressman Seymour Halpern, then a young autograph collector.

Henry Smith Williams [1863-1943] is said to have treated 10,000 patients in his medical practice. He was an expert on the "chemistry and biology of blood cells" and spent ten years intensively studying cancer. After his brother Edward was imprisoned for drug offences in 1931, Williams spent much of the rest of his life advocating for more humane treatment of drug addicts and experimented with treating them by prescribing measured doses of the drugs to which they were addicted. He predicted that fifty years later drug-smuggling would grow to become a five-billion-dollar industry.

The Queens, New York Republican Congressman Seymour Halpern (1913-1997) started his political career as a campaign aide to New York's powerful mayor Fiorella La Guardia and first served in New York's State Senate for 14 years before seeking a seat in the U.S. Congress. In Albany Halpern sponsored 279 bills that became law, including measures on schools, housing, civil rights, nutrition and mental health. A Liberal, he was something of an anomaly as the lone Republican representative from New York City, and generally garnered support from Labor Unions and endorsement from the Liberal Party. Yet he never even considered switching parties as he considered membership in the Republican Party a family tradition and commitment. While he found ample time for his private pursuits, including painting and collecting autographs, he took his legislative duties very seriously. Of these, he was proudest of his co-sponsorship of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and of the original 1965 Medicare legislation. Good .

Keywords: MEDICAL; NOTE PAPER INSCRIBED AND SIGNED BY AMERICAN DOCTOR AND AUTHOR HENRY SMITH WILLIAMS WHO ADVOCATED MORE HUMANE TREATMENT OF DRUG ADDICTS; SIGNATURE; AUTOGRAPH; CANCER RESEARCH; SEYMOUR HALPERN.

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