The St. Mary banner. (Franklin, Parish of St. Mary, La.) 1889-1931, 1907-12-28
The Opium Industry.

the usual belief OF the layrlan opium
and its chief constituent derivatives,
c0deine, morphine, anorMOrphlllc and
heroin, are not used 10Y ana, ltetic
purposes alone; opium possesses
medicinal properties which are Of in
estimable value in many diseases. 1t
is almost trite to cite opium as an eN-
ample OF how abuse can convert
valuable ana beneficial agent into q
destructive power Of the most de
grading nature. This is undoubtedly
1ruer OF opium in the case CT the
Western races than i'll that OF the
Oriental ones. and it is claimed that
the Gmoking OF the drug, as practiced
moderately by the Chinese in COM
Portable circumstances, has not ma
terially affected them, especially in
respect to longevity. but the immod-
crate use of opium is most destruct-
i've even to the Chinese or Malays OF
the poorer classes, who are not con-
stitutionally so we'll able to resist the
terrible inroads of the drug upon the
system and the mind
In the very oldest records OF the
Arabs we find mention of the poppy.
and proof that the use OF the juice of
the plant is one of the most ancient
OF practices. At first opium was uI-
doubtedly used as Il medicine alone.
TheophrastuS was familiar with 1t,
and DioscorideS as early as - y. d.,
wrote learned paper en- its proper
~ Al -, h
fury, Asia Minor was the source of
supply, and from then on it was
gradually distributed over the globe.
The Chinese first obtained the drug
in the thirteenth century, using it
merely as a medicine. but gradually
it's insidious effects were realized,
| and it became so important drug in
a commercial sense, that in 1857 the
/ great monopoly was secured in India
by the East India Company. The
business rapidly increased from 1000
chests in 1876 to nearly 5000 in
1890. At this time the Emperor kea
King fully realized the effect the drug
was having upon his people, and in
1856 it's importation was forbidden.
Chinese caught smoking were f1ogged
and otherwise severely punished, but
Athis did not have the desired effect,
land thereafter those who were de-
rtected using it were transported or
beheaded. Even this did not affect
the sale, and in 1925 the i'm
portation of opium into China
| had increased to nearly 1900
chests. In 1899 the Chinese Govern
ment made a desperate effort to
drive off the English opium sellers
by ordering away the British opium
ships. The order not being complied
with, nearly 10000 chests of opium
were destroyed. entailing a loss of
s1O,OO0,O0O. This act led to the war,
and the final treaty of Nankin in
1872
Some idea Of the Importance OF
> the trade and the amount used can
be seen from the fact that in Mace
dOnia the crop is estimated at 140,-
900 pounds yearly; in Bengal, where
it is Government monopoly, the out
put is equal to nearly 100000 chests
valued at some $50, 900: Persia
produces about 10000 chests. and
ally, while it is said that Mozambique
has 10000 acres under cultivation
for this purpose. Opium has beer
raised in Virginia, Tennessee and
California. as we'll as parts of Cen
trail Europe, but owinS to the lack Of
cheap labor and the uncertainty O.
the crop because of frosts, the opium
I industry in these regions has never
| assumed profitable proportions.
Opium is fundamentally the driet
y juice of the uuripe capsules OF thu
g Papaver somniferum, often known a
the common poppy and less general,
:, as the white poppy. although th'
latter appellation is really appro
), pirate to one of its varieties alone
=, All varieties of the poppy are capa
a BILE of producing opium, though tn
quantity and quality of that from Ger
tain kinds is very much inferior t
that from others, particularly the va
riety mentioned above. The plan
was discovered probably by the Arab
:, and carried from Arabia over larg
portions of the globe. 1t is nov
!. found throughout the south and mid
die of Europe. in Great Britain an
= the United States, principally as
garden plant In India its GUILTY.;
ton for opium is carried on in Va
= rious parts of the country, as niue
as a million acres being under cult
walton for this purpose. But tn
chief opium district is large tra'
:, on the Ganges in Bengal. Ft
= the profitable cultivation rio
Il soil is requisite. and in India tt
n ~, :,