The Bridgeport times and evening farmer., 1922-07-25
GOVERNMENT STARTS FIGHT 10 REDUCE
 SALE OF DRUGS
United States Largest Per Capita Consumer of Opium in the World.
BY HARRY l.. ROGERS, International News Service Staff
 CDrTeSDOndpElt

Washington, July 24.-Uncle Sam is setting about in real earnest to get rid of his present reputation as the worlds greatest drug addict. Despite thinly yelled insinuations from abroad that the United States is taking no interest in the international effoEt to suppress traffic in opium and It's derivatives, the American govern 1 ment is doing probably as much to combat the evil any of those na- lions which are loudest in complain 11g that international cooperation is lacking.
 1 Surprised as the average man in the street may be to hear it. the fact re- main that the United States is the 1'rgest per capita consumer of opium and its compounds of all the nations | of the world. A somewhat beIated realization of this fact by Congress- resulting in the enactment of the so- called Jones-Miller bill has freed the fandS of the administration and en- a5led it to take definite action look rg to the curtailment of the quantity ot hab1t-forming drugs used in this country.
 A committee consisting of Secre- tary of State Hughes, Secretary of the Treasury Mellon and Secretary of l Commerce Hoover, already has been formed, in accordance with the terms of the new law, and is now actively l engaged in experimenting the put ting into execution the provinces of the law.
 | 1FeVlOES Laws Intellectual. In general it has been found that previous legislation in the United States has been directed toward con- lining the distribution of drugs to cer- tain recognized channels rather than to placing absolute restrictions upon suit of this kind of legislation Ina S | been the designation of druggists as the only legal vendors of habit-form- ing drugs. The actual result has been to mt the Tinted at ha hao of the list of nations as a consumer | of opium. The Jones-Miller law seeks to cUrtail the amount of opium 1 brought into the country.
 l Considerable resentment has been felt here at charges from Europe amanating chiefly at the seat of the League of Nations, that the United States has failed to cooperate with the drug traffic. The motive back these repeated insinuations is believed to be a desire to reproach America for not having entered the league. In Europe stated that Secretary Hughes had used the Netherlands as a go- between in communicating with the league on this subject.
 Reports Are Untrue | These reports are absolutely with out foundation On the highest off cial auth ority it may be stated that | Secretary Hughes has sent recent communication to the nations of Eur
 ope or to tke League of Nations on
 the subject of the opium traffic. The precise position of this governme mt | with respect to the league and the
 whole movement for drug control is
 officially described follows: Under the Internatina1 Convention
 of 1912 it was provided that the sta
 tistical information concerning the
 drug traffic should be received at The Hague, the Netherlands government
 being charged with the appropriate
 duty in this respect. Under Article 23 of the Treaty of Versailles it was agreed that the general supervision of the execution of the International
 Agreement relating to opium should
 be transferred to the League of Ma tions
 As the United States did not ratify the Treaty of Versailles the matter,
 so far as the United States is con-
 cerned, was left subject to the inter national convention, which the United States las been at all times ready to | carry out. It could do nothing else. The Dutch government was so in | formed, as the treaty in existence
 could not be modified, so far as the by a new treaty.
 No Communication Sent
 That, in a nutshell. is the Am erican attitude toward the League on the
 opium question. Hughes has sent no recent communication on this subject,
 as there has been no occasion for such a communication. Officials believe reports of information transmitted to the League by the Dutch governm m ent may be based upon the transmissio on
 of data obtained by the Dutch Lega- ton here and forwarded to The Ha- que.
 Secretary Hughes has designated MT E. L. Neville, of the United States ] Consular Service, and formerly in the Far Eastern Division of the State De- pertinent. as his official representative