The Birmingham age-herald., 1909-09-05

| matter how stringent local laws may be, | if the drugs are allowed sale without | restriction in any of the states, they
 are bound to find their way into the for bidden territory.
 Relief by Congress.
 | It Is proposed to have Congress pass | law that will force the manufacturers
 and dealers in all habit-inspiring drugs to take out federal license and to make regular periodical returns to the Internal Revenue Bureau. By this means every once of cocaine, chloral. etc., may be traced from the time it is manufactured | until 1t reaches the consumer, and if the | consumer lives In "closed territory | it is believed possible to cure him of the ! habit by taking from him the means of continuing 1t. The State Department, | through it's opium commissioner, Dr. | Hamilton Wright, took the initiative in the matter of suppressing the production
 and sale of opium for eating and smok- I ing purposes, and will lead the fight for the eradication of the other drug habits "The cocaine and chloral habits are just as bad in their way as the opium
 habit" said Dr. Wright, land we are
 going to draw up bill for presentation to Congress for the suppression of the
 sale of these drugs to the general public. We have no doubt that the law-making power will promptly pass the legislation, for there Is no greater enemy to tho community than man who has become | the victim of a habit of this sort. He not only loses the money that he spends | on the drug. but he loses the time that | he Is under influence. and impoverishes | his family. He becomes not only utter | ly worthless as a citizen, but is likely
 soon to join the criminal class.
 Crusade Auajnst Opium, Tt was, therefore, not entirely from | altruistic motives that the State Depart 1 ment went about the crusade against opium. Out in the Philippines we had
 a large Chinese population that had the
 habit. Here in this country from 40 to 1 45 per cent of the entire Chinese popula- l ton were opium smokers and spent g. | large share of their earnings on the drug. | It looked like good business move, as | well as long stride in the direction of 1 the good of mankind, for us to take the | initiative. To do so it meant that wo would lose more than $600,000 year rev. enue in the Philippines alone, but that | was small item when the resulting ben l eft was considered.
 l "So the department launched the move | ment. As a result of that move we held
 conference in February at Shanghai, and in addition to the United States | there were represented Great Britain,
 
 Italy, Russia. Japan, the Netherlands.
 China, Persia and Siam. Great Britain
 was making S35, 900 a year from the opium in India, but, despite that fact
 very cheerfully joined hands with us in declaring for the suppression of the traffic in all the branches except for medicinal purposes.
 'In addition to the Indian revenue in opium Great Britain had also at stake the opium farms of the Straits Settle
 ments and Hongkong, France was inter- ested to the extent of millions In Indo- China. Japan In Fornosa, and the Meth erlands in its East Indian possessions In view of the enormous sums the other powers stood to lose, our delegation was in rather an embarra ssing position, but we stood for the moral uplift of the world and won out. Great Britfan agreed
 to reduce the exports of opium from In
 dia 10 per cent a year to ten years, and
 China agreed to reduce the production of
 the drug within her boundaries at an
 equal rate.
 Opium Becoming Scarce.
 "Our English friends have kept faith
 with the powers in fulfilling their prom
 ise, and from all we can learn China will reduce her acreage of opium this year by
 more than 15 per cent. The Dominion of
 Canada Is doing her utmost to help us
 suppress the importation of smoking and
 
 importation of any opium except for medicinal purposes went into effect last April. Canada went us one better by passing a similar law that became effec- tive last January.
 "As a result of these laws smoking opium, which sold formerly for from $1.5D to $6 pound is scarce in the China towns of the big cities at $50 pound. Of course some is smuggled in occa- sionalfy and gets to the Chinese In San Francisco, Philadelphia and New York; but the quantity consumed is infinitesi- nal compared with what was formerly used.
 .'The hardest task we had at the con- ference was to secure the passage of a resolution pledging the various govern ments to prohibit the exportation of opium in any form to any country which prohibits the entry of opium, it's alkaloids derivatives or preparations. We strongly urged upon the commission the fact that we had in our national pure food laws the same penalties on the shipment of deleterious articles to foreign countries as on the shipment of these same arti- cles in our interstate commerce
 ''1 pointed out that we had done this | not as result of pressure from foreign states. but as a matter. of international ! ton felt that 1t was time that the prin- ciple of do unto others as you would | be done by was recognized in regard to | such matters, especially the opium traffic. l The British delegation at first led the op- | position, but finally agreed to it, and 1t | was passed unanimously.
 Hasheesh May Arrive.
 'In passing federal law that will | prevent the traffic fin undesirable drugs | 1t will be necessary to look well into tho | future. I would not be at all surprised | if, when we get rid of the opium danger, l the chloral peril and the other now known 1 drug evils. we will encounter new ones. | The habitues will feel that they must | adopt something to take the place of the | dope they have lost through legal en- actment. Hasheesh, of which we know very little in this country, will be doubt less adopted by many of the manufac- tursrs if they can get 1t. In India the