The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1888-05-15
THE OPIUM QUESTION.

dom Of prohibiting the opium traffic,
There IS TOO strong 81 array OF fsct
obtainShle in this community against
such s position TO permit Of its tena-
biity, Let our contemporary con-
suit the mon who were st the head Of
the police department during for,
mer period OF license, Snd those in
sImilsr stStion during the former
prohibition. In that way it may be
enabled TO Svoid eonfounding evils
that are distinct Prohibition is
simed directly at the suppression of
the evil itself-the use Of the drug,
one OF the NEST highting Of
vices License eOnserves the evil.
makes If tributary II the revenues,
but only pretends TO regulate 1t.
The present demand. that the 4Gesr-
tjssr refers 10 as having attained
marvellous proportions has I'M
6oubtedly been very largely created
by the License lately revoked. Snug
Cling under prohibition is more
profitable than under license, because
under the latter the hcensse fixes the
price, and because the Struggled
Srticle has 10 come into competition
with the licensed article. AT the
same time, under prohibition the
reSl eYil-the using OF opium-may
be crushed wherever it shows itself,
while under license the victims of the
habit, 81 liable 10 become victims,
and the community to whom the
victims are s nuisance, are all with
out protection, the only one protected
being the heensee who has paid for
the privilege Of destroying MS fell
lowmen. Smuggling IS q different
evil entirely, the guilt Of those en-
gaging IN which being only relatively
grester IN the case Of an intrinsically
injurious traffic than in that of mer-
cbsRdise IN itself useful or necessary
to mankind License, however. does
not stop smuggling, but rather makes
the smuggled goods more difficult Of
detection. Under the laws governing
both systems in this country. there is
much greater incentive 10 vigilance
on the part Of officials, with more
certainty Of success IN prosecutions,
under prohibition than under the
somewhat confused state Of the law
that ensued upon the Supreme
Courts opinion being rendered.
multiplying privileges that the heensee
was supposed TO hold under
the License Act Of 1876. Reg
UlstiOn by license IS fal-
lseious idea, so proved even in
the liquor traffic, much more IN that
OF opium There are more than
enough Of licensed liquor saloons in
Honolulu to make drink easy of
access TO al who indulge in it, yet
prosecutions against unlicensed ven
dOrs are OF weekly occurrence in the
Police Court The licensed dealers
have tried to combine 20 secure the
benefit Of all the regulation" the
law allows them. but the attempt at
combination has utterly failed. Why?
Because IN very large measure the
supplies for the Illicit 'dens" came
from the same wholesale houses that
are interested IN some OF the licensed
retail shops Thus It was equally to
the interest OF the hesdcenters OF the
business TO protector st least to leave
Undisturbed-the Iaw-breakers as their
customers and retail agents who OBJ
serTed the law 50 far as paying
license was concerned In the same
way moderate amount Of traffic IN
smuggled opium was really to the ad-
vantage Of the ieensee, in its promo
ton Of the habit and manufacture of /
g demand that would mainly be sup
piled in future out of the licensed |
stock To 9 much greater degree
was It advantageous to the hcensee TO |
have an unlicensed, unregulated I
traffic IN the article that he had OBJ 4
tanned his profit from All of the |
regulation under the last licensed |
traffic was huge farce, intended to
be nothing else from the beginning.
It Is ereditable to the 4frertiser to /
say, We do not uphold the opium
law Of 1856" but lis following con
tentiOu. that the broad principle Of
license IS better calculated to abate
the evil than prohibition" cannot be
sustained by argument from the ex-
perience OF this country. It must be
z strange process of reasoning that
concludes prohibition to be a
failure from the fact OF fre-
lgent seizures OF opium attempted
to be Struggled into the country.
Even II the deduction be made
mat the great quantity seized i'm
plies large amount escaping seiz-
ne the difficulty OF getting the drug
MO the country involves an abnor-
nsIy high price, making It q luxury
hat only confirmed users viii seek
Not only that but under our pro
libitOry laws, there are such severe
penalties for merely having opium IL
possession that the growth OF the
habit even among Chinese much
nOre among natives and other nation
.lItIes, cannot but be materially re-
:trieted II not entirely stopped
Jpium smuggling apparently one
Il the chief evils the 4dcertissT takes
lccOdnt of-wouId need TO become