Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1904-04-16
THE OPIUM INDUSTRY
Benares the Center of the
Traffic in India.
RAISING THE POPPY
AREA OF 575, Ooo,oo ACRES DE-
VOTED TO ITS CULTIVATION.
Annual Value Of the Crop Averages
About $50, 200, 900 = Large
Revenue From Licenses.
RAISING THE POPPY
BY WILLIAM e. CURTIS.
cial Correspondence of The Evening Star and


Special Correspondence of The Evening Star and
Chicago Record Herald.
BENARES March Is, 1904.
Benares is the center Of the opium traffic
Of India, which, next to the land tax is the
most productive source of revenue to the
government. It is a monopoly inherited
/ from the Moguls in the middle ages and
passed down from them through the East
India Company to the present government,
and the, regulations for the cultivation
manufacture and sale of the drug have been
very little changed for several hundred
years. There have been many movements,
public, private, national, International re-
ligious and parliamentary, for its suppress
sion; there have been many official inquiries
and Investigations; volumes have been writ
ten on both sides of the moral questions
involved, and it is safe to say that every
fact and argument on both sides has been
laid before the public; yet it is an aston
ishing fact that no official commission or
legally constituted body, not single Eng
lshman who has been personally response
BILE for the well-being of the people OF IN
dia or has even had all influential voice In
the affairs of the empire, or has ever had
actual knowledge and practical experience
concerning the effects of opium, has ever
advocated prohibition either in the cultlVa-
ton of the poppy or in the manufacture OIL
the drug.
Many have made suggestions and recon-
menda atoms for the regulation and restrlc-
ton of the traffic, and the existing laws are
the result of the experience of centuries.
But anti-opium movements have been en-
tirely in the hands of missionaries, religious
and moral agitators in England and else
where outside of India. and politicians VINO
have denounced the policy of the govern
ment to obtain votes against the party
that happened to be in power.
This is an extraordinary statement, but it
is true. 1t goes without saying that the use
of opium in any form is almost universally
considered one of the most dangerous ana
destructive of vices, and it is not necessary
in this connection to say anything on that
side of the controversy. 1t is interesting,
however, and important to know the facts
and arguments used by the Indian govern
ment to justify its liberation of the vice,
which, generally speaking, is based upon
three propositions.
Arguments for federation.
1. That the use of opium in moderation
is necessary to thousands of honest hard
working Hindus, and that it's habitual con-
sumers are among the most useful, the most
vigorous and the most loyal portion of the
population. The Sikhs, who are the flower
of the Indian army and the highest type of
the native, are habitual opium smokers, and
the RajputS, who are considered the most
manly, brave and progressive of the native
population, use it almost universally.
2. That the government cannot afford to
lose the revenue and much less afford to I'M
dertake the expense and assume the risk
of rebellion and disturbances incurred by
any attempt at prohibition.
g. That the export of opium to China and
other countries is legitimate commerce.
The opium belt in India is about 600
miles long and $50 miles wide, lying Just
above a line drawn from Bombay to Cal
cutta The total area cultivated with
peoples will average $4,000 acres. The crop
is grown in few months in the summer,
so that the land can produce another crop
of corn or wheat during the rest of the
year. About 1,475,O00 people are engaged
in the cultivation of the poppy and about
5000 in the manufacture of the drug. The
area is regulated by the government COM
missioners The smallest was in 1892, when
only 454 245 acres were planted, and tie max
imum was reached in 300, when 621,311
acres were planted. In the latter year the
government adopted 625. 600 acres as the
standard area, and 5000 chests as the
standard quantity to be produced in Brit
ish India. Hereaftsi these figures will not
be exceeded. The largest amount ever pro-
duced was in 1872, when the total quantity
manufactured In British India was 81 536
chests of 40 pounds average weight. The
lowest amount during the last thirty-five
years was in 1894, when only 81, 539 chests
We're produced. In addition to this from
20, 600 to 10000 chests are produced in the
native states.
The annual average value of the crop for
the last twenty years has been about $780,
100000 in American money, and the annual
revenue has been about S24 600 and the
officials say that this is a moderate esti-
mate of the sum which the reformers ask
the government of India to sacrifice by sup
pressing the trade. In addition to this, the
growers receive about 800 900 for opium
trash" poppy seeds, oil and other by
products which are perfectly free from
opium. The trash" is made of stalks and
leaves, and is used at the factories for
packing purposes; the seeds of the poppy
are eaten raw and parched, are ground for
a condiment in the preparation of food, and
oil is produced from them for table, lubri-
eating and illuminating purposes, and for
making soaps, paints, pomades and other
toilet articles. Oil cakes made from the
fiber of the seeds after the oil has been
expressed are excellent food for cattle,
being rich in nitrogen, and the young seed
lings, which are removed at the first weed
ing of the crop, sold in the markets for
salad, and are very popular with the lower
classes.
Regulation of Poppy Cultivation.
No person can cultivate peoples in India
without a license from the government,
and no person can sell his product to any