Atlanta tri-weekly journal. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1920-19??, 1922-08-24


some claim there has been recent marked
increase in the illicit consumption Of opium
and other habit-forming drugs, the fact re-
mains that not since the middle SOS has there
been so much agitation against the contra
brand traffic in narcotics as there is at pres
ent The American newspapers are continu-
ally printing stories dealing with the evil in
this country. The opponents of prohibition
aver that the alarming growth in the num-
Der of drug fiends is but the inevitable re-
suit of the dry amendment and the Volstead
law. But the commotiOn Is Oy no means
confined to the United States. The league of
nations has undertaken a worldwide cru
SADIE against the drug traffic; and it is said
that the recent note of the league, which
the state department felt it polite not to
answer, asked for the statistics Of drug con-
sumption in this country.
In the work Of suppression the United
States nevertheless is doing it's share; and
this share consists principally in making it
difficult to bring narcotics into the United
States except their legitimate uses The
customs service at the ports and along the
borders is only the final battlement which
the dope smuggler has to scale. Many and
devious are his methods Of escaping the Wig
lance of the customs officers. Not long ago
a high official of the government, returning
from the Orient, was the innocent accom-
plice of an opium runner. The officials bag
gage was by courtesy exempt from customs
inspection. His trusted servant was aware of
this fact and loaded the immune baggage
with opium. Not until this man began to
peddle the dope was he caught and his clever
scheme discovered.
Yet long before the opium runner reaches
the edge of the United States, he has had
to run another gauntlet and one which often
entraps him. This barrier is that laid by the
American consuls in those parts of the earth
where opium and other drugs are produced.
The consul is Uncle Sans man of all work
in foreign lands. He is not so decorative as
an ambassador or minister; but taking him
365 days in the year, he is much more use
full. He visas the passports of aliens seek
ing to enter the United States, keeps his eyes
open for opportunities for American trade,
looks after American shipping, and every
now and then digs down into his pocket for
the relief of some stranded American tourist
Feats of Consul Adams
Besides these, one of the chief duties OF
our consuls in China is to aid in the preven-
ton of the contraband drug traffic across
the Pacific. Since 1887 it has been a crime
to smuggle opium either into China or into
the United States; and since 1887, but never
more so than at present, the opium runner
has been cross for every American consul
along the Chinese coast to bear Recently
the attention of the consular service has been
directed to the success of Vice Consul Walter
A. Adams in China in breaking up two
wholesale attempts to traffic in opium on
large scale.
Consul Adams attention was first direct
ed to the fact that in the Chinese section Of
Changes, where he was stationed, there was
a native hotel displaying sign in Chinese
that it was an American institution and I'M
der the protection of the American flag. China
is peculiar in that by treaty with that coun-
try all Amercan-owned or American-occupied
property therein, no matter where located, is
subject not to the jurisdiction of the gov
eminent of China, but to that of the United
States. Our government maintains federal
court in Shanghai which has jurisdiction
over all Americans and their property in
China. Consequently, any establishment
which the Chinese authorities had reason to
think was owned by Americans would not
be molested by them.
It was news to Consul Adams, however,
that any hotel in Changsa was owned by
Americans. He made surprise visit to the
place and bore away the sign, together with
evidence that opium was being sold on the
premises under the alleged protection Of the
American flag. Then, in cooperation with
the native police, he broke up several similar
establishments, all Of them claiming Ameri-
can ownership. One of the raided places
was an opium den in which the drug was be-