Evening star., 1921-06-20
OPIUM REGARDED
WORLD PROBLEM
Mrs. Hamilton Wright De-
cIares League Of Nations
Should Take Action.

Mrs. Hamilton Wright. the one
American asked to serve as ad-
visor to the opium advisory commit
tee of the council Of the league OF ma
tions, has called attention to the fact
that the council meeting in Geneva is
to take action on the report Of the
committee.
Mrs. Wright is carrying on the
work which won for her husband, the
late DR.. Hamilton Wright. an inter-
national reputation. DR.. Wright rep
resented the United States at the
various Hague conferences and was
up of The Hague convention Of 1872.
which marked a great forward step
in this troublesome problem which
has disturbed the world for a'century
and a half.
The league has an ideal chance to
show how practical an instrument II
is-for the opium question is purely
humanitarian and has nothing to do
with politics" said Mrs: Wright to a
league is to assume the responsibility
Of this movement 1t must be prepared
to see 1t through to the end, ire
spective of the material interests in
volved.
Should Curb Production.
"The program. SO far as it goes. is
practical enough. but it must go far
ther. The representative of the India
office affirmed that the league had no
right to go beyond the strict exeu-
| tion of the convention But II tne
| leagues powers are SO limited as this
it should be proclaimed at once and
! some other instrument resorted to.
+, Sir John Jordon, former British min
| lister to Peking, insisted. on the other
! hal nd, that the league had the au-
thority to deal with this question at
it's base. That the abuse would con-
| tinue 80 long as India and the opium
producing countries were allowed to
| cultivate the poppy beyond its me-
dicinal need. This is the first point.
"The second is the abolition OF the
opium monopolies in the far east. 1t
is a false and unjustifiable principle
that the welfare Of community can
be based on its moral and physical
degradation. 1t is an untenable
theory of taxation. 1t is not the
desire to ruthlessly destroy the finan-
cial foundations of the colonies of the
east. But it is essential that these
countries determine. as soon as pos
sible. upon some other substitute for
raising revenue. AS a matter of fact
when the cultivation of the poppy is
restricted to its medicinal needs. the
price must automatically ascend. And
opium can still remain an item of
revenue in the east. but based on its
legitimate need rather than on its
power of corruption.
International Problem.
ut can be seen that the opium
question today affects not only the
moral and physical well-being of the
world. but its international relations
as well. 1t is not necessary to point
out the obvious interlacing of all
questions bearing directly or indirect
ly upon the east, and the immediate
reaction upon the complex world
problem. Opium is one angle of ap-
proach, but a vital one, and not to be
underestimated.
The meeting in Geneva marks the
first definite step forward since the
outbreak of the war. 1t is for this
reason l view with some concern the
effect upon the movement if America
definitely refuses to recognize its ac-
tivities. To throw the full responsible
ity of the problem back upon the
Netherlands government is not sutfi-
cient. The larger issues of principle
and the power of amending the con-
vention may rightfully rest at The
Hague. But the time has come when
the practical details of this most in
tricate problem call for more than
the necessarily intermittent attention
of foreign Offices Nothing less will
efficient supervision of a picked com.
mittee of men. The opium question
has nothing whatsoever to do with
politics, and so far as it's solution
is concerned it Is immaterial whether
such a committee sit at Geneva or at
The Hague. The main thing is that
such committee sit somewhere and
begin its operations at once"
Mrs. Hamilton Wright is the daugh-
ter Of the late Senator Washburn and
sister of Maj Stanley Washburn.