New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-06-19
SLAVES TO OPIUM.
,e, or rur VICE IN CALIFORNIA.

-, AZ OCCASIONAL CORRESPONDENT or THE TRIBuNEJ
c.x Francisco April livery intelligent Chr
oan deplores the spread of the opium haht
.mong his countrymon; he admits the irn grip II
- secured upon the great mass of the people ana
49, impress it has already left upon the national
. .horacter The new commercial treaty with emma
"a the history of the negotiations show how
-,,oncly this feeling against the opium talhc mas
len possessOn of the leaders in China. Who desire
Az advancement of their race. Wealthy Chinese
s..bants in this city share the sentiments of the
tope Government. Many of them are compelled to
Ian opium for sale many the drug rs ire
-',oat,r ~ Americans use wines or liquors; but all
t. in declaring il the curse of China. Numerous
,i.,ss have been written on the opium habit but
ry few adhere 10 the facts. DE Quincy and his
.i,ator, have done "a world of mischief 10y scduc-
DO weak minded persons, who ycarncd for new
sensation" into tasting the delights of opium
Other, have exposed the misery of slavery 1" the
Arng but they usually cxaggcrntr Then suil'rngH
IN snch point that n In impossible 10 draw the hn"
ho,veen truth aud nctou. Among American at lho
rnst Opium ~ taken mainly "a the form of l1ula'
ann Hero, on tho contrary, whore tlo 'i'" b.
y.t,dly gaining nun foothold tho Oriental habit
of .uoking ia pfirti.cd. NJ the enjoyment ia fat
teepcr aud much mofc ptotrnctcd There h. 40
el,y in this country which has hccomo thorouahy
i,dct,d with tho cliof Chinese vice ns Nlu linu-
IT,, Tho Chimes who have come over here within
.hc Inst twenty years are mainly from The lower
,las,e. the floating population of the seaport
towns together with recruits non the Philippine
and Sandwich Islands and South America. who s1F
On this state richer field for their cutcrpii-c.
Nearly an Of them smoked opium. and IN the early
DAYS when Customs oiiirers were unused 10 lr-'al
trrkery largo quantities of the drug were
,nneglcd into the country. When gambling WIS
looked upon rs q legitimate industry. opium siu"l-
ipg vya4 never intcifrfcd with. II il only within
the last five year, that serious efforts have been
made by the police To crush out what threatens 10
b. great source Of decentralization among the
vounr people u this city and state Rail- on
oriuu den, are very frequent now and whole
soue terror of the law las been implanted 900 tle
Monaghan mind but infinite are the devices
resored to that the attempt 10 check the vice with
out The most stringent regulations. well nigh
hopeless The cupidity of the majority Of ilc
Chinese residents here blinds them to any of the
ordinary considerations Of morality. They will
give opium to anyone who will pay for IT, They
will initiate mere children into the vice of opium
smoking Just rs the Chinese harlots Will ruin
young boys for the sake of the halt dollar which is
the price of their shame. They all seem in this
. spect to be not immoral but Immoral. Generous
impulses to save the innocent, that would dawn
upon the mind of a savage, appear never to occur
t. them. Their training is all against humane sym
pathies and this makes them such formidable OPP
ponents in any warfare on vice.
NIGHT VISIT To THE CHINESE QUARTER.
Chinatown" which occupies recanglc in the
heart of the city about the size of the section IN
New-York between the BOwery and Broadway,
from Aston place 10 Houston ST.. is filed with opium
dens You would never suspect their existence in
walking along the street or even in passing through
the hall which affords an entrance 10 them. An
elaborate system of passwords makes il impossible
for a stranger 10 gain admittance, while this prccau-
ton, Joined to strong bolts and bars, frequently
ders police descent fruitleSs. The dens are so
nearly alike that description of .one will apply to
all One of the largest is situated in the basement
of a large four-stcry lodging house on Jackson-st.,
owned by a retired American missionary to China.
who has fancy for laying up treasure in this
world Like many of the owners Of tall tenements
in lower York, he probably cares little for the
saualor and vice which find a home in his filthy
roOkcTy. Before the fungation of Chinatown last
year this house had the reputation Of being the
foules place in the quarter, and was shown 10
Eastern tourists with the same satisfaction aS
hideous case of lcprosy. Then, one wa, obliged 10
cross the basement floor on steppng-stoucs to keep
out of the escaping sewerage from the closets near
by Now all this is changed, and the punseut smell
of chloride Of lime att.,S that some clort D, being
made to preserve ordinary sanitary conditions
Passing through a large central court lighted by
one dim oil lamp. the outer door OF the den i
reached signal in Chinese and an attendant
draws the bolts and admits You to AN inner hail
through this YOU pass and another door, patterned
with one great plate Of sheet iron. and furnished
with several strong spring locks and bolts SWING
open and admits yon to the room itself. Il j,
long low apartment about thirty feet by Fifteen /
and not over eight feet in height. II D., gIiuy a.
the focastlc OF "a coaster. Around three sides ],
arranged "a double tier of hunks. which strengthen
The fancy that one Is on shipbolrd. These bun.,
are divided of by partitions at distance, of about
four feet. and in nearly every compartment Ie.'uc
two opium smokers. The bunk j, covered with
Chinese mating, and roll oil cloth ocrtcs "a, "a
pillow.
A sQCAIID OPIUM DIN
Here arc two typical smokers. ono lies on his |
right side. the other lis left; they face each |
other and make use of the same layout" Tins /
consists Of a small acqucrcd tray, two th'mhlc-lkc
dshe- Of opium little oil lamp covered by glass
globe open AZ the top and box for the refuse
opium-lsh. The pipe looks very clumsy To- the I'M
initiated 1t is about two feet long, bamboo cane
an inch in diameter. When new it ~ bright and
shows the material from which it is made but age
and use give IL a rich brown tint In end is left
q small aperture TO which the lips must he closely
applied in smoking. that no air may penetrate
into the pipe and clog the opium About two inches
from the other ed Of the pipe the bowl is inserted
1t is shaped exactly like the small ink-boitles
which have a round base and swell suddenly to a
narrow meek In the centre of the Hat top of the
bowl is a small hole through which the burning
opium is drawn The bowl is screwed into the stem
OF the pipe and is removed every half hour and the
refuse opium cleaned out carefully ard placed in
the little box at the foot Of the tray The bowl is