Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-13
MAKE WAR ONOP|UM
Conference of Nations at The
Hague Proposed.
|EFFORT TO STOP TRAFFIC
Great Britain Proposes Also to Pro-
hibit Morphine and Cocaine.
UNITED STATES WILL CONCUR
Report of Secretary Knox to Con-
gress Shows an Enormous
Use of Drugs.
EFFORT TO STOP TRAFFIC
UNITED STATES WILL CONCUI

With profound satisfaction the State
Department is able to announce the sue
cessful completion of the long-continued
negotiations looking to the gathering of
an international conference with the OBJ
lect OF suppressing the opium traffic.
with one exception all of the nations ad-
dressed on that subject by the depart
ment have agreed to- the conference, and
Word comes from The Hague that May
80 next has been unanimously accepted
as the date and The Hague as the place
for the conference
The American commissioners have not
yet been appointed, but it may fairly be
assumed that the delegates who rendered
such efficient service at the Shanghai
conference in 1909 will be named as the
delegates to The Hague. They were
Bishop Charles Brent of the Philippine
Islands, DIR. Hamilton Wright and
Charles d. Tenney. Chinese secretary of
the United States legation at Peking.
These Signify Acceptance.
The nations which have accepted the
invitation, besides the United States.
are China, Great Britain. France, Ger
many, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands.
Persia. Portugal, Russia and Siam. Aus
tro-IIungary declined for lack of COM
mercial interest in the opium traffic, but
expressed willingness to abide by any
reasonable regulations adopted by the
conference.
Great Britain has injected into the pro-
gram to be considered matter of the first
order of Importance, proposing as she does
to include morphine and cocaine with
opium in the prohibition to be enforced.
The United States will support that prop
osition with all of her strength, in view
of the ravages caused by these drugs in
this country
Enormous Increase Noted.
Secretary Knox has reported to Con-
gress that the manufacture of morphia
has come to be an American monopoly
with an enormous growth of, production,
so that as a notorious fact large numbers
debauched by the misuse of it. Cocaine
also, he said, has proved to be creator
Of criminals and of unusual forms of vio-
lence, driving the primitive classes to alb
normal crimes. Last year $4,000 ounces
of cocaine were imported, while 5000
ounces would have supplied every legiti-
mate medical need.
The Hague conference is called to place
the traffic in those drugs under the con-
troll of international law. China is hon
eStly endeavoring to eradicate the pro-
duction and smoking of opium and has
already done much to stop the growing of
the poppy. But she is greatly hampered
in the effort by the rapidly growing sale OF
enormous quantities of alleged cures for
the opium habit, which turn out to be
nothing more than compositions of opium
and cocaine and by the substitution OF
the hypodermic of morphine for the
smoking of opium. Even in Korea the
natives are being debauched by these
opium pills. which are imported in great
quantities from Japan.
Measures of Suppression.
Therefore the object of the conference is
to have the delegates recommend to their
own governments measures for the sup
preston of the growth and use OF opium,
morphine and cocaine except upon physi-
clans prescription; the prevention or the
shipment of the drugs to other countries,
the control of their sale and use, the
closing of opium resorts and the extern
sion to foreign concessions in China of
the pharmacy laws of the various coun-
tries OF course all of this means that
such nations as Great Britain and France
revenues derived from the opium trade.
In the case of Great Britain this revenue
is estimated at thirty million pounds an
nually, while Siam and the British col
onies will lose full third of their total
revenues.
Legislation Proposed.
Believing that we should go into the
conference with our own house in order,
the State Department is preparing legisla-
ton to be submitted to Congress regulat-
ing the Interstate traffic in the three
drugs, and hearing will be held before
the ways and means committee tomor-
row morning on the drafts Of four bills
covering the subject. The drug trade has
been notified and will be largely repre-
sented at the hearing.
| nDIkh[D Il PLEADED