New-York tribune., 1908-03-15
PARIS DOPE" SMOKERS.
Opium Habit Strong Among Naral
Officers on Shore.
Paris February %.

e-oe was made In the trial for treason OF the
naval officer. Ullmo. has taken the extraordi-
nary hold that il has Upon the officer corps OF
the French navy According TO the statements
of French naval officers themselves, the prac-
,ice IS now very general among all ranks and is
nv 70 means limited to the younger men From
admiral TO midshipnan daily dose, when on
shore. OF from twenty 20 a hundred pipes of the
drug is looked upon nothing out OF the way
rut Il is fair to add that opium smoking goes
OF among the officers when on board ship
r-pon this point all the officers with whom /
have talked upon the subject are agreed It IS
cnlv n the ports and in Paris that the habit is
.ndulged in For this reason its dangers are in
e large measure contured- The healthy life
RI sea quickly braces up q system enervated by
continuous inhalation of the fatal poppy fumes,
and the service OF the French navy is main
tatned at high level of efficiency and discipline.
Notwithstanding that so many OF its officers are
more OF less addicted to the opium habit.
Taken moderately aac with frequent and long
interruptions. opium. say its naval devotees. is
really an excellent tonic and promotes health
snd long life In support OF their contention they
roiut 10 the great age attained by certain well
known Chinese statesmen such as Il Hung
Chang. and u, formerly Chinese Ambassador
81 Paris, who were confirmed opium sTnok-
ers De Quincy. whose Confessions OF an
Opirrn Eater" has worldwide reputation, lived
Il the age of seventy-five. and at seventy would
walk ten miles 10 his printers office TO correct
proofs Re climbed hills. says q contemporary
witness With the agility OF a squirrel. Ger
tasnlv. the young naval officers who have been
.,oinred out 70 ne as devotees of the drug. and
made no secret Of # looked pictures OF robust
health and Of fine athletic condition. But with
respect TO De Quincey there seems to have been
e strong probability that he consistently hum
bugged his readers
Revelations as TO De Quinceys deceptions
have Just been brought forward in thesis read
by Dr. Guerrier before the University OF Lyons.
De Quincey's descriptions OF the effect Of opium
or the human constitution are, says DR.. Guer-
-ier quite inaccurate, and even fantastic. The
feeling Of ecstasy produced by opium does not
come as promptly De Quincy makes out
and the first general effects upon the beginner
similar 10 those Of the first cigar the
small boy-discoElforting and nRuseating Il
would have been impossible for De Quincy to
have attained 10 the daily dose OF 2Or0 drops
q laudaruul, he pretends. De Quincy says
that during the periods that he gave up taking
iau6azuIn he was unable to work. while as a
matter OF fact il is known that at that very
tine he wrote and published number Of elab-
crate magazine articles Opium destroys the
memory: that OF De Quincy remained infallible
- The end Of his life Dr.. Guerrier concludes
rhar e De Quincy took opium al all. he could
or1- have taken very little and that at rare in
te-Tals
II al the chief French naval stations there
gre opium smoking dens, which the police are
constantly endeavortng 70 discover and sup
press As, however, they are known only 10 the
initiated. and are conducted like social clubs,
with complete avoidance Of publicity, this task
Sc very difficult In Paris the opium
mostly known TO one another, and they meet at
one another's fats studios 20 inhale their
favorite intoxicant The opium is brought over
hy naval officers from China and Indo-China.
and = either Of Indian origin. from Benares or
of Chinese manufacture, from the Yunnan
The latter Is supposed 10 be much the best in
quality. L is expensive, and there Is q certain
danger that II may be seized 81 route by the
custom house officials, for the Introduction Of
opium into France IS forbidden Sometimes II
arrives from Oriental countries in the ''diplo-
ratic bag But though opium may not be i'm
ported into France. Il is still an open question.
which the Court of Appeal is now being called
upon . decide. whether or not it may be freely
sold here by druggists and even by private per-
sons- woman named HouseaI, who keeps an
opium den il Paris n the Rue des Petits
Champs, IS being prosecuted for selling opium.
snc vas on the point OF being condemned when
hs- lawyer pointed out 70 the presiding Judge
NAT tne opium prepared for smoking purposes
differs entirely from the pure opium extract in
GUIDED among the list OF posons which cannot
legally 5e sold without q Pharmaceutical license
The court has appointed expert TO settle this
poIu-
NO better proof could be furnished Of the
POPULARITY of the opium smoking la bit in Paris
which e gradually embracing all classes Of So
ne
stories by Claude -Farere entitled "FurnAe
Opium" which has already run into seven
editions ald made d big literary reputation for
IS author II Farrere was entirely unknown
Until he decided 10 enter as competitor for
I-lze tor snort stories organized by one OF the
RACING Paris dailies. Out CT six thousand com
psttors be easily won the first prize and his
IllaHus'-iEt having attracted the attention Of
n Pie--e LoUys. the author Of ~Aphrodfte" z
i'e1ace by that master Of classical porncgraphic
tHocs-lou Is now an additional attraction to his
printed y orl.
II fa-rere seems 70 owe the same debt 70
ti-Ial That Edgar Allan Poe did to alcohol
Hls inspiration is. II anything more irnagina-
NFe-E D4ood-curdling- The story OF the old
k=see1t q the Foreign Legion who acquired
N-e oIion habit in Toukin. and who, BY way Of
pension for his wounds, has been appointed
pr q ( provincial cemetery. where he grows
-SDE-nese poppies and makes his own opium |
"ouc SATISFY the most jaded taste for cadaveric
1'1fors Opium has exaggerated the old ser |
ts6Ats hearing 70 such q degree that he hears
tae struggles Underground which proceed from |
ihe unfortunate victims OF premature burial.
there. don't you near the board creaking? |
fOlt0nateiy the earth lies heavy. he won't get |
oo' me brute shall not him all pale and