Tombstone epitaph., 1891-03-15
PRooLs sr oF TIE POPPY.
Es~s1y sSOO, COG spent Yearly for oPIsa
 fH New York


 Esas1y $500 COG spent Yearly for oPiaa
 iH New York.
 It was foT the purpose of giving an Rc. sarate and interesting account of how a.000 Chinanen spend S4GS.S4S. % Snuu. ally just for the pleasure of hitting the pipe" " that the Chinese reporter made q thorough canvass of the various haurts oi Chinatown
 There are at present kbC at twenty-five Chinese fssT=ss$ .het deal in refined opiumt teth wholesale and retail There are Z even private Chinese joints, whers 5sum fs sold at S2 25 i'er ounce. These .1ints do not now admit white smokers, Gn account of the frequent raids made upon them by the police, but the stores sell to both Chinese and whites, although the latter must be well known smokers. Otherwise he has Co suffer for the want Oi opiun-whioh, according 10 all accounts, Is even worse than Ia see ''sDakes." Great tears would gIIsh out of his eyes, big dTnns of precipitation constantly muisten his brow, while his nosUrils would at ss If be owned a small sized fountain some
 where in his head. But the worst Of all he ailments Is an eXGruCiating pain al. Jvei his backbone, as it he had been just
 run through a fine clothes wringer. Under
 suca circumstances he would almost be
 willing to give half of his entire kingdom to be able to Init the pipe"
 SIX pills or pipes, about the size Of
 green pea, would restore him tO his Eaurai eonditiOn of life, which would last biIn tor about ss Eisssy e::aEs- A regular ''deld" will consume about an OUnGe per day, which is S221
 The sensation while smoking is iDSeSl soothing. No matter how fatigued CT op- pressed in mtnd, few shiffs Of the pipe would put man in the best of social sP!TitS- IL has strange medicinal proper
 ties. and is said to cure all kinds of levers and ague, consumption and palpitation of the heart. Most ChsnRmen are driven tG
 t through business Teyerses and CtileT troubles, while not a few contracted the
 habit through sOciabiiity, just as EL American would do on their take . drink with friend
 IL takes just about the same length of time to get the opium habit as 10 get the drinking habit. The latter destroys the mind, and makes a man irresponsible for ais actions, while the former destroys the body but makes a keen thinker of the victim. It is estimated that there Rrs something over 1000 Americans in the city Of New York who are now using opium in the same manner and form as the Chinese Most of these are said Co be well known and fashionable people, as indeed no other but people of means and of leisure could ever Ue able to contract such habit.
 The opium dealing firms sell from two to i've cans per day, each can weighing abont four ounces. Most ot the wholesale orders come from towns and cities in and around New York staie, and only now and then the native American customers from up town come in to buy tbeir supply. Say ] lhey only sell an average of three cans per 1 day. Al wholesale rates, which is SS.3 l scr can for China imported goods, but l Shen refailed out by the fifty cents worth ! at a time il would bring it up tO about l $l0 10 Sll per can. Al Sl0, which is the | lowest possible price per can, sixty-siG cans amount 10 SS60 per day, CT S24O 90l | per ear.
 1 There are eleven joints. The majority 1 oE these import their own opium, sad IC l be direct from China, but the greater part | Uf which comes from Victoria, 8 C. One | Uf these places, which Is the best Chinese 1 joint in town, sells at retail on Sundays l alone from ten to twelve cans, while thI i second best place sells from eight 10 ten l caus Oa Sundays. On an average thess ] RAHbS uE-puoe nl i've GstlAo d dts i.IG-S 1 places calculate to make from S2 to s or 1 each can of Chinese imPOrted opium. but | tlley are able 10 make more when they | Haix rhe Victoria in with the pure. I'm i it can easily be seen how nearly Sl , ,OgG, ,O0t 1 Thauges hands for opium each year. ] According to Chinese San F=anciscI i papers they paid over $500 600 iOT custom 1 house duties for the Chinese year jus l ended on opium aloHe.-Wong Chin Fct l n New York World