The Washington times., 1922-05-07
DRUG
TRADE FOUGHT
BY D. {. WOMAN
Mrs. Hamilton Wright in Eu-
rope to Promote lnterna-
tionaI Action.
By ANNIE LAURIE


can do TO revive interest in the
agreement made at the Narcotic
Conference at The Hague just be.
fore the war.
wonder just how much success
she will have.
Mrs. Wright is a brilliant and ex-
ceedingly able woman. She is in
terested deeply in the question of
the narcotic evil.
The late Hamilton Wright was a
delegate TO the convention at The
Hague, and Mrs. Wright went with
him. They worked night and day
10 bring about an understanding
between the nations 50 that the
drug traffic could be stamped out.
That understanding was reached.
and the delegates went back to
England and TO France and to
Italy and TO America satisfied and
happy.
And the War Came.
And then came the war, and no.
body paid the least attention any
where to the agreement made At
the conference.
Why does not somebody call
meeting OF another such conference
and get right down 10 the bottom
OF this drug traffic, and cut IL off
at the root and be done with IL?
What the world needs right now
TO stem the terrific tide OF the drug
triffic is action, and immediate &C
ton.
Years ago China made the most
pathetic end the most magnificent
fight In history.
But the English opium monopoly
did not want To do without the chi
nese trade. so England went 10 war
about II and forced the opium down
the very throsts Of the Chinese.
Twice this thing was done.
And now China is making another
! desperate fight against opium. In
| China TODAY man caught selling
opium is Instantly beheaded-that is
what the Chinese know about the
evil OF the drug. which stole saway
the manhood Of China for genera.
tions.
They do not make any mistakes in
China-not about narcotics. They
have suffered-and they understand.
Now II II the japanese that they
must fight. Japan OWNS railroads
and postOffices In China, and by that
means Japan Is carrying In opium BY
| the ton.
A japanese postofficc station usu-
| ally consists OF three or four officials
Japanese. a little store for general
merch ha ndise and twenty or thirty
Yoshiwara girls, and the moment
these slave girls arrive the opium
traffic begins.
That ts what much OF the fight
over the Japanese postoffiCes in
China was about at the disarmament
conference al Washington.
Japan's New Monopoly.
Now Japan has taken over new
government monopoly and is get
4 ting the opium out OF Siberia. She
cannot sell it all 10 China.
Who is the next best customer?
England is too far away and the
English are not yet sufficiently
debauched.
Japan itself will not permit the
sale of a single grain to a single
Japanese - next the Philippines
Hawaii-and then United States OF
America Itself.
Already the Philippines and Ha
waii are rotten with dope"
| Already America is alive with II.
Then there is the English opium
monopoly.
In Calcutta every year the Eng.
lish government holds an open auc-
ton Of opium and the opium prod
ucts and over half OF what is sold
there comes right straight across
to this land
We ourselves have four large
American factories These fac
tories get the opium in the crude
form and the cocoa too and they
make II over into morphine and
cocaine and heroin-how much do
they make a year?
Facts Must BE Barred.
Where do they sell it all?
Who gets the benefit of il?
why should they be allowed to
| manufacture any more than what
is actually needed in actual med
ical practice by actual hospitals
and reputable physicians?
Is It not worth while to look at
the facts in the case?
! Is II worth while to get some
vague idea of the real truth OF the
danger which is striking right at
the very heart of American eff
cheney. American honor, and per.
haps even American independence
itself7
Are we willing to become a
nation OF dope fiends?
Don't laugh-those who know
most about the situation never
even think Of smiling.
Good luck TO Mrs. Hamilton
| Wright and her earnest and deter
mined effort to get the nations Of the
world to keep the promise they
made at The Hague Conference.