Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1892-11-19

He Is an object who shuns and IL
summed by eOclety. Moral degrAda-
ton and ruin have overtakon him.
Home Is no longer home. business
he has none. He Ia hopelessly Gu
thrsllod, spending his time smoking
more and more. The desire for food
vanishes and he draws temporary
strength from the pipe. His form
becomes drawn and pinched, his skin
tight and ahriveled, his eyes sickly
yellow. There IL a terrible gnawing
at his vitals. His strength decreases
daily until he growa too weak oven ~
smoke. lie then falls back upon hts
miserable pallet aud dies In such
agony na would cause tho etOutest
heart 10 quail.
II In estimated that about thirty por
cent NJ the Chinese IN the United
States arc confirmed opium s0ts. AS "a
| commercial cOmmodltlty the extract II
a we'll paying article. San Francisco
Ia the opium smokers Mecca Of
America. There no rovols In II day
and night and gives no en1 VI trouble
10 the police. He makes opium
smuggling AZ well n smoking q part OF
his business. rhe vice there finds Its
way secretly into the magnificent
palaces OF even Rich Americans,
though my guide, who has spent con.
siderable time Investigating the opium
traffic In that city, says that such cases
art gratifylngly rare. There rs here,
no says, II Ia generally only depravei
white people who use II, but they are
numerous.
Statistics show that nearly n not
| quite half n million pounds OF opium
have passed. through the hands OF Han
| Francisco custom house otilclals dur
| ing the last eight years, 10 say nothing
VI the enormous quantities smugg!eu
into the country along the Pacific
const unseen anu unhesr1 Of. Ii 10
further estimated that l.O,O0O pou nda
OF opium are consumed by smokers
west Of the Rocky mountains annually,
/ most Of 1t Ia San Francisco, of course.
/ In 1883 the tariff was raised from 80 10
$40 per pound On smoking opium ana
! 81 per pound ON opium Ia its crude
state. This duty remained Ia force
until tho Mckinley bill went
into effect when IL was raised 10 Sia
per pound for all kinds Of opium.
Notwithstanding this enormous tax the
trade continues undated. Last year
more than threo-iourths Of n million
\ dollars were paid as opium duties in
San Francisco alone.
have been informed by number
OF Cinnamon that most OF the opium
used IA thls city come, here via Brit
ish Columbia. That great deal OF Ii
ia smsggled there " no doubt. One
Chinese store amt there are number
here--it 10 said IN now carrying stock
OF eighteen hundred pounds OF opium.
Opium, as ID well undorstooi, con.
tains valuable medicinal properties and
Is the dried juice extracted from the un.
ripe CAPSULES OF the white poppy
tile botanical name OF which Is idD9.
Ucr saDlHt Jerum. Tho plant IS an
annual and is supposed to 10 a native
OF Asia. IL 10 extensively cultivated
In India, Persia. Asiallc Turkey ana
western China. IL 10 also grown 10 n
limited extent IN southern Europe. II
varies In height from one TO six feet,
and II brsuched anu has dark.green
oyate.OblOng eessllo leaves. In India
the business Of raising opium IL 10 2.
eminent monopoly and Yields a.
annual revenue 10 the imperial treas.
ury u between SiO,0OO,OO0 ami 500.
900, 900. The profitable cultivation OF
the poppy requires the very baal pOll
The seed Is planted In India early In
November. 1t flowers In January nd
In February the capsules are ready for
the opiam extraeiors, who, with a