The Detroit times. [volume] (Detroit, Mich.) 1903-1920, 1914-08-13
PROHIBITION OF
OPIUM HARD ON
CHINESE FARMER
Reform Causes Suffering, Be-
cause No Other Crop Has Been
Found to Replace Drug
LARGELY BLAMED FOR
BUSINESS STAGNATION
Coolies Have Not Adopted Selves
To Raising of Legitimate
Crops

SHANGEAI, Aug. i The stagna-
ton OF all business In China has been
the subject OF much anxious inquiry.
Various reasons have been assigned
for 1.-THE prevalence OF outlaws In
all provinces. deprecated paper cur
rency, lack OF credit due to the col
lapse Of the native banks, and the
continuance of petty plots, resulting
in general unrest and lack OF conf.
dence.
None of these explanations quite
meets the case. II there are bandits,
the hold of the government on all
provinces Is stronger today than 1t
has been since the empress doMager
died. II there are plots, they are
feeble compared with what the past
two years have seen. II credit facili-
ties are lacking, the notorious procliv-
ity of the Chinese to trade under any
conditions ought to overcome even
this disability.
There remains one explanation
which has not yet been given In print.
With due allowance for all other fac
tors, the fundamental cause may well
be the suppression OF opium cultiva-
ton. Opium was the natural cur
rency OF the Chinese farmer, his mar
gin or wealth out OF which he paid
for foreign Injuries, such as piece
goods, and now he is no longer al
lowed to grow It. Fourteen provinces
have been closed to, Indian opium.
which means that they are officially
clear Of native cultivation. Among
them is Szechuan. which was former
-ly the largest cultivator Of native
opium and the largest customer OF
the Shanghai foreign merchant.
In the customs decennial reports
for 1892 to 1901 the commissioner Of
customs at Chung-king, who had
made special study of this question.
calculated that Szechuan annually
produced 10000 piculs "a picuf equally
about I3S pounds) Of opium. "Of
this he said, some So per cent
passes the border under likin duties
for consumption in other provinces,
about IL per cent goes through the
customs house. while 33 per cent IL
consumed locally"
Let Il be borne In mind that opium
is the easiest possible crop to cult
vate. II will grow anywhere and al
hAOos ~ oAAy dAhC, ~ nocub AO l0Ls
tilizing or attention. Thus It admir-
ably fills In the time between spring
and autumn harvests. When the
poppy Is In flower the women 60
round and score the capsules, next
day gathering In bowls the juice that
has exuded In the previous "a hours.
That ID crude opium, which can, or
could, be taken to established shops
In the nearest village and exchanged
against SO much silver. There was
just risk that rain might fall while
the, capsules were exuding and ruin
the juice. but the process was 30
quick that this danger was slight.
The farmers have been told to grow
cotton and wheat. But cotton will
only grow under certain conditions,
and wheat Is SO heavy that its price
doubles at 40 miles from the place
OF production. Both are comparative
ly difficult and costly to cultivate.
especially In China.
Indirectly, there is little doubt, the
opium Is responsible for much of the
paper money which affiicts the coun-
try, paper notes being invented to
supply q currency when opium failed.
That Is also responsible for the enor.
nous numbers Of "out-ofworks"--po-
tential and actual bandits-cannot be
questioned. Opium, which they grow
so easily, made just the difference to
them between starvation and subsist-
ence.
It seems an extraordinary thing that
men should risk being fined and tor
tured and shot for the sake OF grow.
Ing opium. But this fact Of the bare
margin between want and self-support
explains much. In a word, the sup
preston Of native opium cultivation
has disorganized the whole economic
machinery of China. How long will
II take that machinery to recover Il.
self?
The alarming extent to which NOR.