San Antonio daily light. [volume] (San Antonio, Tex.) 1886-1907, 1891-08-25
CHEAP OPIUM.

Successful Smuggling Has Reduced
the Price Nearly so Per Cent
From the New York Journal.
"Let us go and open a small bot
rtle.n
"No; let's go hit a pipe. It's more
fun and is cheaper"
The foregoing conversation passed
between two young men about town
yesterday afternoon as they were
standing on Broadway, near the Hoff'
man house. 1t indicated new idea
in vice that was startling.
Is opium smoking cheaper than
wine drinking?
The affirmative answer came quick
ly after Journal man had made q
few inquiries, and showed that wine
drinking was being slowly pushed to
the rear by its debasing rival, the
opium pipe; but it showed that an
effort was being made to popularize
the latter vice. and that within the
past month or two several opium
Joints have been opened in various
parts OF the city by no less factor in
financial affairs than half dozen of
Pell streets wealthiest Cinnamon,
headed by Why Chung, the we'll
known tea merchant and Chinese
banker.
Behind this depreciation in price of
the prepared opium, which is simply
the cheap opium of commerce cook
ed" and afterward manipulated into
q consistency ready for smoking, is
concealed something that looks a
great deal like a crime, and which
shows If correct, that new scheme to
defraud the United States govern
ment, which extends from San Fran
CISCO to New York, has been uuearth-
ed, and which is a part Of neat
scheme to substitute opium drunkards
for wine lovers.
Opium has been for the past SIX
mouths steadily going down In prices
asked by dealers in the prepared
kind used by devotees of the pipe.
1t was worth on February ], 1891, at
any Chinese dealers, at least S35
pound, while in the few drug stores
that keep the prepared stuff it was
held at $40 to $45 q pound.
Today any one can buy the pre-
pared opium Of the Chinese dealers
for $25 pound, while at the regular
drug stores about S26 per pound is
the reduced price.
Inspector Byrnes yesterday was in
formed of the crime through a tele-
gram from San Francisco, and was
requested too see if any of the opium
that had managed to reach the San
Francisco authorities looked suspic-
iously like smuggled stuff.
Wong Lo Ong, who has branch
store in Doyers street, and q part of
whose headquarters for business is i'm
San Francisco, has been arrested i'm
that city, and is the man who put
upn the new criminal idea.
1t has been In the past the duty of
the Custom House officers in New
York and San Francisco to see that
all manufactured or cooked opium
which entered these ports should
bear certain distinguished labels 81
that it cOu d be quickly invoIced and
the legal duties assessed against it.
Recently about 100000 worth of
prepared opium came to New York
on one of the Pacific Mail steamers
from San Francisco, bearing the
usual labels. 1t was assessed
by Collector Erhardt, and after
the duty was paid Why Chung, the
Pell street merchant, to whom it
was consigned, took the stuff away to
his store, from which it was soon dis
tributed among the many opium
joints mat intest the Chinese quarters,
and at goodly profit.
1t is now suspected that these Ia
bells, which are bought of the govern
ment before being attached TO the
opium, are forgeries, and that they
were prepared by gang of men ia
San Francisco, headed by Wong Lo
Ong.
Insptc or Byrnes' advices are that
something like Sl50,0OO worth of
opium, to which was attached, these
bogus labels, was found concealed in
Chinese opium dens in San Francisco
which was part of the consignment
brought to New York by steamer and
which 1t is the business of the New
York detectives TO find, if they can,
among the Chinese joints in this CITY,
for the purpose of cOnfiscatiou.
The loss TO the United States gov
eminent III both the San Francisco
and New York lot OF bogus labeled
opium is about S6S, 900.
Why Chung, the New York China
man, who lives In Pell street, was
closely questioned by Inspector
Byrnes' men yesterday as to his con-
nection with the affair. He claimed
thst.the syndicate he represents had
paid Wong LO Ong, In San Francisco
for the stuff $40 pound, S. less than
present quotations.
He said that he thought it queer
that the opium WAS sold so cheap,
but, Chinaman-like, didn't ask any
ouestions although he heard WONG