Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1921-05-11
The Real Opium Offenders.

Every now ana Jhen Inere pieaho
out in the press of this country and
| in certain limited portion of the
press of Great Britain a new cry of
denunciation of Japan and China
chiefly Japan-for smuggling or
handling in other nefarious ways the
most baneful of drugs, opium. China
sometimes is given drubbing for
smuggling the narcotic into our Pa
cifc ports, but, as rule, we are
merely told that Japan is. smuggling
the drug into this country and into
China. The Celestials, we are warned,
are being utterly crushed under the
curse of Japanese-smuggled opium
The latest outbreak of this sort OF
stuff is in New York, where deputy
police commissioner asserts that Ja-
pan and Germany are competing for
the damnation of the rest of the
world through the smuggling in OF
opium. This commissioner has, how
ever, the grace to admit that some of
the guilt rests upon US, and that we
are actually sending the fatal drug
to Japan.
After the japanese buy the opium
from us, they sell it in whatever
market is open for it, and that is,
chiefly, China. Then we Pharisaically
turn on the japanese with the accu-
sation that they are corrupting and
poisoning China!
We have taken a leaf out of the
English book, but have learned only
one-half of their wisdom about
opium. We follow those hard-and-fast
traders in selling opium to Chinese,
or japanese, but we do not, like the
English, keep our mouths shut and
say nothing about the shameful bus
mess. We have been so accustomed
to accuse the japanese that we are
quite equal to blaming them for.
merely passing on to the Chinese the;
opium that they have bought from
our pious .traffickers in the drug.
The japanese are now, if we may
believe the declarations made by
their higheststatemen in the Diet,
taking drastic measures to put stop,
to the opium traffic with China, even
to stop the. opium that comes from
the United States. They confess hey
have been guilty, but declare they
mean to put an end to the nefarlous
trade.
What are we going to do about it3
Will we stop sending the drug to
Asia? Or will we continue to hand
the drug to China with. one hand
and pass on missionaries, tracts, and
indictments of Japan with the other?
1t is time that the truth should be;
known fully about the traffic in
opium. Part of that, truth is very
old story. Every reader of history
has read of the Opium War. or the
Arrow War, which England waged
against China over the right to force
India's opium upon the helpless
Chinese users of the drug. But few
persons seem aware, consciously
aware, of the fact that this traffic
still goes on, that even Lord Morley
condoned it for the sake of revenue
for India, and that opium is being
manufactured daily-or was quite
recently-in Hongkong, a British
possession in China, for sale in the
markets of the country.
The writer saw caldrons of this
baneful drug in process of making
in a British official quarter in Hong
kong. There was a vast quantity OF
the drug, and there was no conceal-
ment of the shameless traffic.
If the same thing were being done
by this government, we should prob
ably manage to manufacture the
stuff in some hidden slum, as our prl-
vate producers and traders manage
it.
1t was said in the japanese Diet
that a large amount of opium goes
to Japan from the United States, and
the New York police commissioner
admits this. Philadelphia is reputed
to be the chief source of the supply
in this country. 1t would be in
fine spirit of rivalry for the City OF
Brotherly Love to send this vile stuff
to the Chinese as set-off to the
former export of rum from Puritan
ical New England to the blacks OF
frica