The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1898-06-02
LICENSING THE SALE OF OPIUM

1t is most unfortunate that in dis
cussing the proposed bill to license
the sale of opium to those only who
are in the habit of using it, the good
people do not pull together. Those
who are in favor of the license are
just as honest and capable, and wise,
as those who oppose it. The Attorney
General, and the Marshal, moreover,
who favor this carefully restricted Ii
cense, have had a daily experience
during the 365 days of the year in
fighting this opium fiend, while the
excellent women of the WOman's
Board, and Col. Allen have had none.
The suggestion of these capable pub
lie servants, with whom is the Col
Iector of the Port, we believe, ought
to be invaluable.
The Devil with his pockets crammed
with opium, strides up and down the
land, leering and laughing at the good
people, swapping his fingers at the
Attorney-General, the Marshal, the
Collector, and the prohibitory law. He
not only laughs at the law, but makes
several hundred thousand dollars a
year of doodle" out of it, and feeds
and clothes a gang of his smuggling
Apostles with it, The good men and
women, knowing that there is now the
best administration of law that ever
existed here, and that the Devil
downs" it in this business, simply
stand off and cry out, ooh! you bad,
bad wicked Devil! You ought to be
ashamed of yourself" And the Devil,
who enjoys such language, smiles and
snaps his fingers again, and splits on
the law, and whispers to his gang of
fat smugglers, they must be as clever
as | am if they ever catch me-"
Now the intelligent men, who do
not talk about the evils of opium but
spend their days and nights fighting
the Devil, have suggested that instead
of permitting the Wicked One to break
the law, and besides that, to make a
lot of money out of it, plan be sim
ply tried for a while. of preventing
him from getting any profit out of
the business. That plan is described |
by the Acknowledgement in another |
column. These officers are desperate |
and instead of shouting to the Devil |
''you bad man" they propose to do |
fire. But the good people can't agree
as they should The Devil sees that |
they are divided on the question, and
he knows how very weak opposition
to him is, when it is divided. And he |
knows, too, how successful he has been
from the beginning, in getting good |
people to disagree, for ceconscience |
sake"
Another serious fact: There is
not stluggIer of opium or dis
honest official on these Islands,
who does not strike hands heartily |
with the Woman's Board, in OPP
posing any license law. They |
wish the law to stand as it is.
They desire that the good men and
women should play into their hands.
This new license law may deprive them
of big profits, and they will be very
thankful to good people who will aid
them in keeping these profits. We are
stating facts, not theories.
Does not a license tolerate an evil?
Well, government is only a cOmprO-
mise between right and wrong. The
Duke of Wellington, one of the most
powerful of British statesmen for forty
years said, he ''never could have his
own way" He found that govern
ment was an everlasting compromise.
An experiment with a limited license
may be a compromise. But would it
not be better to try it for a while,
and see if it gets us out of this in
toIerabIe evil of laws trampled upon,
policemen made corrupt, and the Devil
laughing at us, with his shop in town
full of opium?
There is another curious aspect to
he case. No one can consistently adj
rocate annexation" who favors the
present prohibitory law regarding
opium.
The supreme law of the United
States, if annexation takes place, per-
nits every native, and every China
nan to import opium. This may be
Time and again some
states of America have prohibited the 4
Importation of liquor, and in every