The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1884-01-25

conc thus 10 ruin before the next one ns-
semhlee. This evil Is confined 10 no class
or occupation. Il numbers amongst It's
victims some OF the brightest intelIects OF
| our handsome OF the best women ana
men Of all classes. Prompt action Ia then
demanded, lest our land should become ut
last an American China, with q population
stupificd by the direful effects OF narcotics |;
and thus distased physically, mentally, ana
morally, the love Of liberty will be swal-
lowed up by the love OF opium. whilst the
masses Of our people would become ht
subjects for despot. Are not all, then,
e0ua,iy interested in resisting this growing
ey,l--all classes and all parties! IL IL a
question, then, not OF party, but OF patriot
ism and philanthropy. Can the loss OF a
| few dollars by any body OF individuals be
compared with the evils that all should
seek 10 suppresss
ANY law, then. that will prevent these
| evils must be for the public good, and can
not re "class legislation but an omls-
sion to pass such q law lest 1t may lessen
the pectiniary gains Of any class, when
such law, as in the present instance. is for
the public good, would be species OF class
non-legislation III may so call it as obi
oCs as positive class legislation. and even
more so, since thus wrong would triumph
for the fear Of doing right on the part OF
those who have power to control the evil:
Democrats. Readjusters, and Republic
cans are all equally interested In maintain
ing the public good in this matter. Each
and all are liable to become the victims OF
the destructive habit OF opium-eating.
How then can It be party question: How
can the Democratic or any other party De
| injured bv seeking to suppress this evil!
| Bat can readily see that any party that is
afraid TO do what Is right, and for the pub
lie rood. NAV thus be injured, as it should
he. Can any one contend that the suppress
sion of this evil is not right; or that
the means of its suppression Is wrongf
Not unless 1t Is wrong to give the physi-
clan Che right TO control his own prescrip-
tious; not unless it is wrong to restrict
the sale OF poisOns only to those who have
physicians prescriptions, who only are
presumed 10 know when those poisonS are
beneficial and when they will be destruc-
tive to health and life. Why, then, should
any one object to such lawY Should pri-
vate gain weigh feather in the balance
with so great public calamity? Is it
possible that there are persons who will
have the holiness to subordinate the public
veal to private gain-to put in one scale
this gain and themselves and in the other
opium poisons. disease of body, mind, and
morals, premature death. and the vast
body OF opium-eatcrs that pervadc all Sec
tons OF our country, whilst still they in
crease? Which scale. Mr.. Editor, think
you, would preponderate
Our enlightened Legislature and Cover
nor can scarcely hesitate to decide in favor
of suppressing such IN evil.
1t is hoped that other members of the
committee may furnish statistical evidence
of the widespread evils resulting from
opi,m-e eating, and more convincing argu-
ments in favor of its suppression.
MY own experience and observation,
though doubtless more limited, are sufti-
cient to convince me OF the utility Of such
a law as is now proposed.
know persons who have been opium
eaters for some years who now daily con-
sumo enough Of this poison in the form OF
to kill half dozen robust men not
used to the poison. l have heard them,
with tears in their eyes, say that they
wished it had never been prescribed for
them, and that the facilities OF obtaining il
bad been denied them. Even they think
the sale of opium should be restricted by
law, and regret ii had not been done years |
,go. Shall many more be forced to regret |
t before such a law is passed? These I'M
fortunate victims to the perniciOuS habit |
IRE gradually but certainly sinking into |
premature graves. Diseased bodily, men, |
ally, and morally, their all absorbing |
thoughts and desires are for more opium. |
More and more is daily taken until the |
stomach reyolts at the enormous doses. |
And then TO obtain the more prompt and |
powerful effect OF the poisonous drug it is |
By many OF them inserted into the flesh |
during each day, in spite of the |
painful assesses il often causes, until in |
ome instances the whole surface of the |
BODY seems to be tattOoed. | have heard |
me eXclalm with sorrow there was no |
onger place to put it. Whilst they know |
1 is killing them, more or less rapidly, the |
fascination and power OF the drug seem |
and it is rare exception il |
thew ever cease to take il as long as it can |
be obtained until they have poisoned them |
selves to death. Should not this, then, be |
even though the profits OF drug |
gists be diminishedl
I have seen three negroes, each with |
bottle to be filled with laudanum. enter a
drugstore within few minutes OF one f!
another, without note or prescription, |
when the poison was delivered to each;
when the clerk said all of it was for one |
person. who was then waiting for it on the
street near. That person still had some !
some regard to public opinion, and if it |
could not have been so easily gotten might |
have soon been cured of the habit. But |
when daily saturated with opium and stu |
H. e
public opinion, and are hopeless cases un-
less the poison be gradually diminished by |
force. The law will do most good as |
preventive. do not mean to particularize |
localities or individuals in stating thus ac-
tual facts, for there are doubtless many |
places aud persons to which and to whom |
they are applicable, and i much fear there
are in Virginia, as in the other States, more |
towns aud cities to which they are applica- |
bic. more OF less, than to which they are |
not.
But it is said that cit is a bin to punish |
druggists" This is only in the event that |
they violate the law, and no reason is man.
fest why. as such, they should be ex-
empt from Its consequences, which would |
be "class legislation" Ii might be sup
posed that druggists would oppose this |
bill. But such an inference, think, does |
them injustice. 1t is an imputation upon |
their generosity, their philanthropy, their |
patriotism-an intimatiOn that they would
sacrifice the public welfare to private gain,
which j cannot think applicable to our
Charlottesville druggists. and i hope not |
to those OF Richmond or any other Vir-
gnia town or city. In these good qualities
they Ne next to physicians, whose lives
are spent in relieving individual misery and
in promoting the public good. 1t is hoped
that druggists will cooperate with them in
seeking TO prevent and In s,lnDress tbis