2This description of the Opium Department is to be found in Statistics of British India, Financial Statistics, Vol. II, 8th Issue, page 159:
OPIUM. The region in which the poppy was cultivated in 1916-17 for the manufacture of "Bengal opium" comprises 32 districts of the United Provinces of Agra and Ouhd. The whole Department has, with effect from the 29th September, 1910, been under the control of one Opium Agent, with headquarters at Ghazipur. At Ghazipur there is a Government factory where the crude opium is manufactured into the form in which it passes into consumption. The cultivation of the poppy and the manufacture of opium are regulated by Act XIII of 1857, as amended by Act I of 1911, and are under the general control of the Lieutenant Governor and the Board of Revenue of the United Provinces, and the immediate supervision of the Opium Agent at Ghazipur. The possession, transport, import and export of opium are regulated by rules framed under the Indian Opium Act. Cultivation is permitted only under licenses granted under the authority of the Opium Agent. The area to be cultivated is fixed by the license, and the cultivator is bound to sell the whole of his production to the Opium Department at the rate fixed by Government.... Advances, on which no interest is charged, are given to licensed cultivators at the time of executing the agreement and from time to time (though ordinarily no more than two advances are given) until final delivery. In March, April and May the opium is made over to the officers of the Department, and weighed and tested, and as soon as possible afterwards each cultivator's accounts are adjusted, and the balance due is paid him. After weighment the opium is forwarded to the Government factory at Ghazipur, where it is manufactured in 3 forms—(a) opium intended for export to foreign countries, departmentally known as "provision opium"—(b) opium intended for consumption in India and Burma, departmentally known as "excise opium" and (c) medical opium for export to London. Provision opium is made up in the form of balls or cakes, each weighing 3.5 lbs., and is packed in chests, each chest containing forty cakes, weighing 1401/7lbs. It is generally of 71° efficiency. Excise opium is made up in cubical packets, each weighing one seer, 60 of which are packed in a case. It is of higher consistency than the "provision opium." Medical opium is made up into cakes weighing 2 lbs. Provision opium is sold by public auction in Calcutta. A notification is published annually, generally about the month of June, stating the number of chests which will be put up for sale in each month of the next calendar year, and the quantities so notified are not altered without three months notice. Sales are conducted month by month by the Bengal Government; 7,000 chests were notified for sale in 1917 for shipment to non-China markets. The number of chests actually sold was 4,615. In addition to this, 4,500 chests were sold to the Government of the Straits Settlements, 2,200 to the Government of Netherland Indies, and 410 to the Government of Hongkong. The duty levied by Government on each chest may be taken to be the difference between the average price realized and the average cost.
XI
TURKEY AND PERSIA
Next to India, the greatest two opium-producing countries in the world are Turkey and Persia. The Statesman's Year Book for 1918 has this to say about it. On page 1334: "The principal exports from Turkey into the United Kingdom ... in two years were:
These are the only articles mentioned in this list of chief exports. There are others, doubtless, but the Statesman's Year Book is a condensed and compact little volume, dealing only with the principal things exported. In 1915 we therefore notice that the opium export was second on the list, being exceeded by but one other, dried fruit. In 1916, the third year of the war, the opium export is decidedly less, as are all the other articles exported, except dried fruit and wool—which were articles probably more vital to the United Kingdom at that time even than opium.
PERSIA
The same authority, the Statesman's Year Book for 1918, gives a table on page 1162, showing the value of the chief exports from Persia. The values are given in thousands of kran, sixty kran equaling one pound sterling.
Since the war, both Turkey and Persia are more or less under control of the British Empire, which gives Great Britain virtual control of the world's output of opium. With this monopoly of the opium-producing countries, and with a million or so square miles added to her immense colonial Empire, one wonders what use Great Britain will make of the mandatory powers she has assumed over the lives and welfare of all these subject peoples! Will she find these helpless millions ready for her opium trade? Will she establish opium shops, and opium divans, and reap half the costs of upkeep of these newly acquired states by means of this shameful traffic?
XII
MAURETIUS
Another British colony is Mauretius, acquired by conquest in 1810, and formally ceded to Great Britain by the Treaty of Paris in 1814. This island is in the Indian Ocean, 500 miles east of Madagascar, with an area of about 720 square miles. The population is about 377,000, of which number 258,000 are Indian, and 3,000 Chinese. Opium appears to be sold in the colony, since the Blue Book mentions that licenses are required for opium sellers. As far as we can discover, by perusal of these Government Reports, the sale of opium is not conducted by the Government itself, as in India, the Straits Settlements, Hongkong, etc., but is carried on by private dealers who obtain licenses before they can open opium shops. A part of the revenue, however, is derived from opium; thus, according to the Blue Book for the Colony of Mauretius for 1915, page V 73, we read that the imports of opium for the year amounted to 1,353 kilos, with a duty collected of 54,126 rupees. The Blue Book for 1916 shows a gratifying increase. Thus, the import of crude opium from India amounted to 5,690 kilos, with a duty collected of 227,628 rupees. (See page V 64.)
Statistics for British India, Eighth Issue, gives these figures:
Opium exported to Mauretius
This is a poor little colony, but has its possibilities. The consumption of opium appears to be increasing steadily in a most satisfactory manner. Congratulations all round.
XIII
BRITISH NORTH BORNEO
British North Borneo occupies the northern part of the island of Borneo. Area, about 31,000 square miles, with a coast line of over 900 miles. Population (1911 census), 208,000, consisting mainly of Mohammedan settlers on the coast and aboriginal tribes inland. The Europeans numbered 355; Chinese 26,000; Malays, 1,612; East Indians about 5,000 and Filipinos 5,700. The number of natives cannot be more than approximately estimated, but is placed at about 170,000. The territory is under the jurisdiction of the British North Borneo Company, being held under grants from the Sultans of Brunei and Sulu (Royal Charter in 1881).
Like many other British colonies, opium is depended upon for part of the revenue. The Statesman's Year Book for 1916 observes on page 107: "Sources of revenue: Opium, birds' nests, court fees, stamp duty, licenses, import and export duties, royalties, land sales, etc. No public debt."
In this frank manner, our attention is called to opium, which appears first on the list of sources of revenue.
Going over the files of the Government reports, we will begin with the "Supplement to the Official Gazette for British North Borneo. Administration Report for the Year 1910." Published June 1, 1911. On page 3 we read: Customs and Trade: The import and export trade of the state shows a healthy expansion.... It is interesting to note that imports show an increase at every station. Out of the 47 headings of Tariff, there are only 7 which show decreases.... The largest increases appear under cloth, $147,106; opium, $132,692, and iron ware, $118,620.... The general all round increases ... are of course due to the demand for supplies of all kinds in connection with the opening of rubber estates."
The Supplement to the Official Gazette, Report for 1912 (published in December, 1913) is also a report of general prosperity. Page 4: "Trade: The volume of trade for the year 1912 was $11,139,122, giving an increase over 1911 of 18 per cent.... Imports: As in 1911, all stations show an increase of imports. Out of 47 headings, 33 show increases, 12 show decreases, and 2 remain stationary. Increases: There was an increase under rice, flour and grain ... the increase under other headings include sundries, opium, machinery, etc."
The next Government Report is not so happy. Opium imports show no "healthy expansion." Thus, the Supplement to the Official Gazette, Report for 1913 (published 1 February, 1915) says on page 4: "Other decreases in imports were opium, $109,180. The decrease in opium was due to the abolition of the Opium Farm, which also held the Labuan Farm, and opium was therefore no longer imported from Labuan for use in the West Coast and the Interior."
Still more bad news as to opium, in the report for 1914, (published 1 February, 1916). All imports drop. Page 4 records "Decrease in imports.... Railway and telegraph material, rice, flour, grain and opium." In this year the opium imports only amount to $58,464. This general falling off in all imports may have been due to the war. But the opium situation was apparently growing serious. On page 17 of this same report we read that "Thirty-two ordinances were passed by the Council and became laws during the year. Among them the Opium and Chandu."
The brevity and meagerness of these official reports often leave one puzzled as to their meaning. The Supplement to the Official Gazette for 1915 (published October, 1916), shows still more discouraging news as to opium. Imports that year amounted to only $31,299. But, in spite of this discouragement, hope still remains. The same report shows optimism under the head of Excise. "Excise: $627,225, against $467,078, an increase in the net revenue of $160,147, due to Government taking over the sole control of the sale of chandu (smoking opium) and the collection of other Excise duties, formerly farmed."
This explains the Ordinance passed by the Council the preceding year, regarding Opium and Chandu. Since the Government has taken over "sole control of the sale of chandu" and will collect the excise duties systematically and thoroughly, we may still hope for some future report which will show once more a "healthy expansion" in the opium revenue.
XIV
BRITISH GUIANA
Situated in South America. Area, 89,480 square miles. Population at census of 1911, excluding aborigines in the unfrequented parts of the colony, 296,000. The Statesman's Year Book, which gives us these brief facts, has very little to say about this British colony in our Western Hemisphere, and gives no dates or information as to how and when it was acquired. The Government reports are also meager and unsatisfactory, and there is no wealth of detail as to exports and imports. The country, however, is rich in gold, mining having commenced in 1886. Diamonds have also been discovered.
The chief sources of revenue, however, are customs, excise and licenses. With the word "excise" we have come to have unpleasant associations. From "The Statistical Abstract for British Self-Governing Dominions, Colonies, Possessions and Protectorates" we find a table showing the imports of opium into the various countries under British rule. The opium imports into British Guiana are as follows:
These figures would seem to indicate that even on the Western Hemisphere the taste for opium may be cultivated. It need not necessarily be confined to the Oriental peoples. The population of much of South America is a mixed lot, the result of mixed breeding between Spanish settlers, Indians, native tribes of all sorts. All this jumble, including the aborigines referred to, might, with a little teaching become profitable customers of the Opium Monopoly. Time and a little effort, given this fertile field, ought to produce a "healthy expansion" in the opium trade.
And that this insidious habit is indeed taking hold, in at least one more country in South America, one may infer from the following paragraph which appeared in the New York Times, 4 October, 1919:
DRUG EVIL IN ARGENTINABuenos Aires Opens Fight on Use of NarcoticsThe city government of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has begun a determined fight to wipe out the drug evil by the enactment of stringent laws governing the sale of narcotics. This step was taken after an investigation by the authorities had disclosed that not only was the narcotic habit strong among the poor, but that it was spreading throughout virtually every class in the city.Until the passage of the laws druggists were permitted to sell cocaine, morphine and opium to any purchaser. The new laws forbid the sale of these drugs except in filling prescriptions prepared by registered physicians. The city also has established dispensaries for the treatment of drug addicts.
DRUG EVIL IN ARGENTINA
Buenos Aires Opens Fight on Use of Narcotics
The city government of Buenos Aires, Argentina, has begun a determined fight to wipe out the drug evil by the enactment of stringent laws governing the sale of narcotics. This step was taken after an investigation by the authorities had disclosed that not only was the narcotic habit strong among the poor, but that it was spreading throughout virtually every class in the city.
Until the passage of the laws druggists were permitted to sell cocaine, morphine and opium to any purchaser. The new laws forbid the sale of these drugs except in filling prescriptions prepared by registered physicians. The city also has established dispensaries for the treatment of drug addicts.
XV
HISTORY OF THE OPIUM TRADE IN CHINA
In a vague way, we are familiar with the "opium evil" in China, and some of us have hazy ideas as to how it came about. The China Year Book for 1916 has this to say on the subject: "The poppy has been known in China for 12 centuries, and its medicinal use for 9 centuries.... It was not until the middle of the 17th century that the practice of mixing opium with tobacco for smoking purposes was introduced into China. This habit was indulged in by the Dutch in Java, and by them taken to Formosa, whence it spread to Amoy and the mainland generally. There is no record to show when opium was first smoked by itself, but it is thought to have originated about the end of the 18th century. Foreign opium was first introduced by the Portuguese from Goa at the beginning of the 18th century. In 1729, when the foreign import was 200 chests, the Emperor Yung Ching issued the first anti-opium edict, enacting severe penalties on the sale of opium and the opening of opium-smoking divans. The importation, however, continued to increase, and by 1790 it amounted to over 4,000 chests annually. In 1796 opium smoking was again prohibited, and in 1800 the importation of foreign opium was again declared illegal. Opium was now contraband, but the fact had no effect on the quantity introduced into the country, which rose to 5,000 chests in 1820; 16,000 chests in 1830; 20,000 chests in 1838, and 70,000 chests in 1858."
The China Year Book makes no mention of the traders who carried these chests of opium into China. The opium came from India, however, and the increase in importation corresponds with the British occupation of India, and the golden days of the East India Company. "Opium was now contraband, but that fact had no effect on the quantity introduced into the country,"—smuggled in wholesale by the enterprising British traders.
China was powerless to protect herself from this menace, either by protests or prohibition. And as more and more of the drug was smuggled in, and more and more of the people became victims of the habit, the Chinese finally had a tea-party, very much like our Boston Tea Party, but less successful in outcome. In 1839, in spite of the fact that opium smoking is an easy habit to acquire and had been extensively encouraged, the British traders found themselves with 20,000 chests of unsold opium on their store-ships, just below Canton. The Chinese had repeatedly appealed to the British Government to stop these imports, but the British Government had turned a persistently deaf ear. Therefore the Emperor determined to deal with the matter on his own account. He sent a powerful official named Lin to attend to it, and Lin had a sort of Boston Tea Party, as we have said, and destroyed some twenty thousand chests of opium in a very drastic way. Mr. H. Wells Williams describes it thus: "The opium was destroyed in the most thorough manner, by mixing it in parcels of 200 chests, in trenches, with lime and salt water, and then drawing off the contents into an adjacent creek at low tide."
After this atrocity, followed the first Opium War, when British ships sailed up the river, seized port after port, and bombarded and took Canton. Her ships sailed up the Yangtsze, and captured the tribute junks going up the Grand Canal with revenue to Peking, thus stopping a great part of China's income. Peace was concluded in 1843, and Great Britain came out well. She recompensed herself by taking the island of Hongkong; an indemnity of 21 million dollars, and Canton, Amoy, Foochow, Ningpo and Shanghai were opened up as "treaty ports"—for the importation of opium and the "open-door" in general.
Mr. Wells, in his "Middle Kingdom" describes the origin of this first war with England: "This war was extraordinary in its origin as growing chiefly out of a commercial misunderstanding; remarkable in its course as being waged between strength and weakness, conscious superiority and ignorant pride; melancholy in its end as forcing the weaker to pay for opium within its borders against all its laws, thus paralyzing the little moral power its feeble government could exert to protect its subjects.... It was a turning point in the national life of the Chinese race, but the compulsory payment of six million dollars for the opium destroyed has left a stigma upon the English name."
He also says, "The conflict was now fairly begun; its issue between the parties so unequally matched—one having almost nothing but the right on its side, the other assisted by every material and physical advantage—could easily be foreseen" and again, after speaking of it as being unjust and immoral, he concludes "Great Britain, the first Christian power, really waged this war against the pagan monarch who had only endeavored to put down a vice harmful to his people. The war was looked upon in this light by the Chinese; it will always be so looked upon by the candid historian, and known as the Opium War."
Within fifteen years after this first war, there was another one, and again Great Britain came off victorious. China had to pay another indemnity, three million dollars, and five more treaty ports were opened up. By the terms of the Treaty of Tientsin, the sale of opium in China was legalized in 1858.
From a small pamphlet, "Opium: England's Coercive Policy and Its Disastrous Results in China and India" by the Rev. John Liggins, we find the following: "As a specimen of how both wars were carried on, we quote the following from an English writer on the bombardment of Canton: 'Field pieces loaded with grape were planted at the end of long, narrow streets crowded with innocent men, women and children, to mow them down like grass till the gutters flowed with their blood.' In one scene of carnage, theTimescorrespondent recorded that half an army of 10,000 men were in ten minutes destroyed by the sword, or forced into the broad river. "The Morning Herald" asserted that "a more horrible or revolting crime than this bombardment of Canton has never been committed in the worst ages of barbaric darkness."
Naturally, therefore, after the termination of these two wars, China gave up the struggle. She had fought valiantly to protect her people from opium, but the resources of a Christian nation were too much for her. Seeing therefore that the opium trade was to be forced upon her, and that her people were doomed to degradation, she decided to plant poppies herself. There should be competition at least, and the money should not all be drained out of the country. Thus it came about that after 1858 extensive tracts of land were given over to poppy production. Whole provinces or parts of provinces, ceased to grow grain and other necessities, and diverted their rich river bottoms to the raising of opium. Chinese opium, however, never supplanted Indian opium, being inferior to that raised in the rich valley of the Ganges. The country merely had double quantities of the drug, used straight or blended, to suit the purse or taste of the consumer.
Then, in 1906, the incredible happened. After over a hundred years of steady demoralization, with half her population opium addicts, or worse still, making enormous profits out of the trade, China determined to give up opium. In all history, no nation has ever set itself such a gigantic task, with such a gigantic handicap. China, a country of immense distances, with scant means of communication; with no common language, a land where only the scholars can read and write, suddenly decided to free herself from this vice. The Emperor issued an edict saying that in ten years' time all opium traffic must cease, and an arrangement was made with Great Britain whereby this might be accomplished. To the honor of America be it said that we assisted China in this resolution. We agreed to see her through.
A bargain was then made between China and Great Britain, in 1907, China agreeing to diminish poppy cultivation year by year for a period of ten years, and Great Britain agreeing to a proportional decrease in the imports of Indian opium. A three years' test was first agreed to, a trial of China's sincerity and ability, for Great Britain feared that this was but a ruse to cut off Indian opium, while leaving China's opium alone in the field. At the end of three years, however, China had proved her ability to cope with the situation. Thus, for a period of ten years, both countries have lived up to their bargain, the amount of native and foreign opium declining steadily in a decreasing scale. April 1, 1917, saw the end of the accomplishment.
China's part was most difficult. In the remote, interior provinces, poppies were grown surreptitiously, connived at by corrupt officials who made money from the crops. However, drastic laws were enacted and severe penalties imposed upon those who broke them. If poppy cultivation could not be stopped, England would not hold to her end of the bargain. Not only was there a nation of addicts to deal with, but these could obtain copious supplies of opium from the foreign concessions, over which the Chinese had no control. We shall show, in another article, to what extent this was carried on. Yet somehow, in some manner, the impossible happened. Year by year, little by little, one province after another was freed from poppy cultivation, until in 1917, China was practically free from the native-grown drug, and foreign importation had practically ended.
In this manner, first by large smuggling, then by two opium wars, was China drugged with opium. And in this manner, and to this extent, has she succeeded in freeing herself from the curse. But in one way, she is not free. She has no control over the extra-territorial holdings of European powers, for in each treaty port are the foreign concessions already mentioned—German, Austrian, British, French, Russian. And in these concessions, opium may be procured. Simply by crossing an imaginary line, in such cities as Shanghai and Hongkong, can the Chinese buy as much opium as they choose. China will never be rid of this menace till she is rid of these extraterritorial holdings. Opium shops, licensed by foreign governments, are always ready to supply her people with the forbidden drug.
We say that the China market is closed. So it is, in one way. But the British Opium Monopoly is not ended. The year 1917 saw a tremendous blow dealt to the British opium dealers, but other markets will be found. There are other countries than China whose inhabitants can be taught this vice. The object of this discussion is to consider these other countries, and to see to what extent the world is menaced by this possibility.
XVI
CONCLUSION
There are many people who advocate the use of opium, and who defend the policy of the Opium Monopoly. They argue that it is not harmful—if taken in moderation. They even assert that it is no more objectionable than alcohol or tobacco. Leaving out of account, therefore, the consensus of opinion of the medical profession as to the evils of habit-forming drugs, and accepting the theory that opium is harmless, we should then like to ask why the use of opium is so carefully restricted to the peoples of subject states, who have no voice in their own affairs? Why should the benefits of opium be confined to Oriental races, and why should not the white race be given the same opportunities for indulgence? Is there any reason for this discrimination? As a source of revenue, it certainly has advantages. Yet curiously enough, those European countries which derive much profit through the sale of opium to their subject races, seem to have an aversion to introducing it to their people at home. And there is a further coincidence in the fact that none of the self-governing colonies of European countries—Australia, New Zealand and Canada—permit this traffic. It appears to be only the subject peoples, whose well-being has become the White Man's Burden, who receive the blessings of this peculiar form of altruism. Is it because the white race is worth preserving, worth protecting, and because subject nations are fair game for exploitation of any kind?
Another argument advanced by advocates of Government opium is that the Oriental peoples are "different"—that opium does them no harm. Every writer on the subject of opium in China, produces evidence to show the shocking results upon that country, during the hey-day of the deluge. The complete moral degradation, and economic ruin of thousands of helpless individuals. Nor do we think the medical profession would agree with this assumption that opium is harmless to Orientals, because they are "different." Their only real difference lies in their helplessness to protect themselves from foreign aggression.
Another argument advanced by the upholders of the Monopoly is that the Orientals have always been users of opium, that they like it, it suits them, it would be unfair to deprive them of it. We have seen to what extent the Chinese liked it, and how it was forced upon them by two wars. Not until they were completely crushed, and had to accept the terms of the conquerer, did they submit. It can hardly, therefore, be called a vice indigenous to the Chinese. Japan is another Oriental nation that disproves this argument. As we have said before, there are no opium shops in Japan, and the sale of opium is not conducted by the Japanese Government. On the contrary, the Japanese have the same fear of this drug that a European nation has, and exercises the same precautions to protect its people. But, as we have said before, Japan is the only Oriental nation that has not been subjugated by a European nation, and therefore has never had opium thrust upon her. She is the only country in the Far East that has managed to preserve her sovereignty, and has never been subject to certain blighting influences of European culture.
Another exception to this assumption that the Orientals cannot do without opium lies in the Philippines. When America acquired those islands some twenty years ago, our first act was to eliminate the opium traffic, which had been established there by our predecessors. It had been in existence for decades, but we immediately set about to abolish it. Root and branch we did away with it, and shed no crocodile tears as to the "hardship" this would be to the people who had come under our protection. We wished no revenue coming from such a source as this. Yet we might have cut in half the cost of our Philippine budget had we followed the example set by other nations. We have seen that certain British colonies, Hongkong and the Straits Settlements, for example, derive from one-third to one-half of their upkeep expenses from this traffic. But we refrained from treating our Filipinos in this manner. We are called sentimentalists out in the East—at such times as we are not called money-getters. To-day, the Philippines are very nearly ready for self-government. Would they have been so nearly ready had we continued to drug them as they had been drugged before we took possession? Drugged peoples are usually docile and submissive—perhaps that is the secret of much of the successful colonizing, about which we hear so much.
But let us leave aside the question of the Orientals, and whether or no opium is good for them. We recognize quite clearly that it is not good for ourselves, for Americans. We recognize that fact quite as clearly as England realizes that it is not good for the inhabitants of the British Isles. Quite as clearly as France, while setting up opium shops in her colony of Indo-China, refuses to establish them in Paris or Marseilles. America is unique in the fact that although we have colonial possessions, we do not have a double standard of morality. We attempt to throw around our colonies the same safeguards that we throw around ourselves at home. But the question arises, how successful are we in protecting ourselves at home? Not particularly so, according to the daily press.
How great the danger to ourselves was recognized some thirty-seven years ago by an Episcopal missionary to China, the Rev. John Liggins. In 1882 he published a small book, already referred to, entitled: "England's Coercive Opium Policy and Its Disastrous Results in China and India." The preface to this unheeded warning runs thus. "Our aim in this sketch is to present, as briefly as possible, the most important facts and testimonies concerning a traffic which is as disgraceful to England as it is ruinous to China and hurtful to India.... It is also of the highest importance that the people throughout our wide domain should be aroused concerning the new, fascinating and deadly foe which has entered our country through the Golden Gate, and which already numbers its victims by the thousands, and will soon do so by the tens of thousands."
The Rev. Mr. Liggins saw it coming—that danger which is almost ready to overwhelm us to-day. He recognized clearly that the Opium Monopoly of that great nation which rules nearly one-third of the world—the British Empire—would in time reach further and further afield for new victims. It is too lucrative a trade to be confined to only a few countries. Markets must not only be created and legalized in subject states, but new ones added in outside countries, through smuggling. All too fatally easy of accomplishment, and so profitable, financially, as to be worth any risk and effort. The prediction as to our own danger, made in 1882, seems to be abundantly realized.
The number of drug addicts in America to-day are fairly startling. The number is variously estimated in New York City alone as from ten thousand to one hundred thousand. It is said that there may be a million in the country. Yet these figures are the merest guesswork, by no means substantiated. Certain it is that the campaign of the New York Health Department has uncovered thousands of them, and any other city that chose to do so, could produce facts equally startling.
The laws on our statute books concerning the prescription of narcotic drugs are powerless to deal with the situation. It is shooting into the air to try to "regulate" this condition. It is as thoroughly well "regulated" as it can ever be by the Harrison Anti-Narcotic Act, a Federal Law whose enforcement is in the hands of the Internal Revenue Department. By the provisions of this Act, every pound of opium or its derivatives that comes into this country, legitimately, is accounted for, and its distribution, both wholesale and retail, made a matter of record. Thus, the Board of Trade returns show the amount imported by the big wholesale drug houses. These must account for their sales to the retail drug stores, and the amounts must tally. The drug stores can only sell narcotic drugs on a physician's prescription, and the prescriptions are kept on file, and the quantity sold must correspond to the quantity called for by these prescriptions, as well as to the amount obtained from the wholesale drug house. In prescribing narcotics, the physician is obliged to write his prescription in triplicate—one copy for his own protection, one copy for the local druggist, and one copy to be filed with the health department. Nor is he allowed to prescribe narcotics for an addict without decreasing the dosage. His prescription cannot call for thirty grains of morphia day after day—it must show, in a chronic case of this kind, a daily diminution of the amount prescribed, thus indicating a desire to get the patient off the drug, eventually. All these records are kept on file, open to inspection whenever an accounting is demanded, consequently any leak can be instantly accounted for. This Harrison Act is as comprehensive and as nearly perfect as possible, yet it does not cover the situation. By this means, violations can be detected, whether on the part of an unscrupulous physician or druggist, or even the wholesale house, but these violations are only occasional. The root of the evil remains untouched.
At one time, it was believed that carelessness on the part of the physician was chiefly responsible for creating drug addicts, but the recent campaign against violators of the Harrison Act seems to have completely exonerated him of this charge. For one patient who becomes a drug addict while under a doctor's care, through the accidental misuse of morphia, there are a hundred who form the habit through other ways. It is not the occasional, accidental victim, given morphia for the relief of pain, which is creating our thousands of drug users. It is not the occasional unscrupulous physician who is responsible. If this was all, we could easily cope with these unwitting abuses, or even deliberate instances of misuse. But the question goes deeper than this.
The Opium Monopoly was not established for any humane or altruistic purpose. It was not established to provide the medical profession with a drug for the relief of pain, to ease the agony of the injured and wounded, or to calm the last days of those dying with an incurable disease. This, which may be called the legitimate use of opium, is not the object of the Opium Monopoly. Used only in this manner, there would be no money in it. It is only when opium is produced in quantities far in excess of the legitimate needs of the world that it becomes worth while—to the Opium Monopoly. That Monopoly was established not to relieve pain and suffering, but with the deliberate intention of creating pain and suffering, by creating drug victims by the thousand. It is these hundreds of thousands of customers that are profitable. The menace to America lies in the large amounts of opium which are smuggled into the country for this purpose. Boys and girls of sixteen and seventeen first acquire this habit through curiosity, through association with what they call "bad company," peddlers who first offer it free, as a gift, well knowing that after a few doses the fatal habit will be formed. Where do these vendors obtain their supplies?
The daily papers often contain suggestive paragraphs. Thus the "New York Times," under date of February 28, 1919: "Seize Opium in Schenectady. Opium, valued by Federal officials at $10,000 was seized in Schenectady, and four Chinamen were arrested in a raid on Chinese places of business on Centre street to-day. The Federal officials expressed the belief that opium had been smuggled, and that Schenectady is the distributing point for this part of the State."
An item in the "Seattle Union Record," of June 24, 1919, gives us cause for further consideration.
BRITISH DRUG SHIP HELD BY UNITED STATESFine of $49,265 Assessed for Bringing "Dope" to AmericaLiner Allowed to Move Under BondNo Arrests Made, Though Booze Is Found AboardNo arrests were made up to Tuesday noon in connection with the enormous seizure of opium, cocaine and liquor on the Blue Funnel liner Cyclops, although the investigation is being continued by federal officials. The ship has been seized and a fine of $49,265 has been assessed against her for having drugs not listed in the ship's manifest.United States District Attorney Robert C. Saunders filed a libel Monday night against the Cyclops, the boat being seized later by the customs service. Bond was fixed at $100,000, or twice the fine. The Fidelity Surety Company filed the bond Monday. The ship was released Tuesday morning.A civil libel suit may be filed against Capt. W. Duncan, holding him responsible for the liquor found on the ship. Captain Duncan, questioned Monday by customs officials, claimed to know nothing about the contraband.The result of Monday's checking of the opium and cocaine showed that the seizure amounted to 778 tins of opium, 670 ounces of cocaine and 16 ounces of morphine.
BRITISH DRUG SHIP HELD BY UNITED STATES
Fine of $49,265 Assessed for Bringing "Dope" to America
Liner Allowed to Move Under Bond
No Arrests Made, Though Booze Is Found Aboard
No arrests were made up to Tuesday noon in connection with the enormous seizure of opium, cocaine and liquor on the Blue Funnel liner Cyclops, although the investigation is being continued by federal officials. The ship has been seized and a fine of $49,265 has been assessed against her for having drugs not listed in the ship's manifest.
United States District Attorney Robert C. Saunders filed a libel Monday night against the Cyclops, the boat being seized later by the customs service. Bond was fixed at $100,000, or twice the fine. The Fidelity Surety Company filed the bond Monday. The ship was released Tuesday morning.
A civil libel suit may be filed against Capt. W. Duncan, holding him responsible for the liquor found on the ship. Captain Duncan, questioned Monday by customs officials, claimed to know nothing about the contraband.
The result of Monday's checking of the opium and cocaine showed that the seizure amounted to 778 tins of opium, 670 ounces of cocaine and 16 ounces of morphine.
A small paragraph in a New York paper, dated June 12, 1919, reads thus: "Two New Yorkers jailed for smuggling opium. Pleas of guilty to charges of opium smuggling were entered in the Federal Court to-day by Albertus Schneitzer and Maxwell Auerbach, of New York. They were fined $500 each, and sent to Atlanta penitentiary, the former for two years, and the latter for one year. The men were arrested in connection with the seizure of opium on the Canadian border."
We cannot grapple with our problem unless we face the facts; if we ignore the source of supply and distribution, and the reasons for this immense over-production of opium on the part of the British Opium Monopoly. The anti-narcotic laws on our statute books are powerless to protect us. With Canada, a British province, to the north, and all Mexico on the south, what chance have we against such exposure? Of what use to send two smugglers to the penitentiary, when at the Calcutta opium sales, once a month opium is auctioned off under the auspices of the British Government, to be disposed of as the buyers may see fit? Much of it, as we have seen, goes to those helpless states and colonies which have no control over their own affairs, where the opium traffic is conducted under the administration of the alien government. Much of the rest of it goes out for smuggling purposes, to be distributed in devious, roundabout, underhand channels throughout the world. We are coming in for our share in this distribution.
We feel that our country is in grave peril. Our politicians and our diplomats have been too careful all these years, to speak of this business, through fear of offending a powerful nation. But we feel that the time has now come to speak. England has been relying upon our silence to "get away with it." Upon our ignorance, and upon that silence which gives consent. But in this new, changed world, reborn out of the blood and agony of the great war, is it not time to practice some of the decencies which we have proclaimed so loudly? As we have said before, no stronger opponents of this policy are to be found than among a section of the people of England itself. We look to them to join us, in this great issue, and we feel that we shall not look in vain.
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