Evening star., 1923-10-10
US. WARON OPIUM
SUCCEsSNGEN
League Committee Favors
Restricting Topples TO
Medical Needs.

rHorts of the American deiesa-
ton to the sessions of tho opium q"
,1sory committee of the league o'
nations at Geneva recently "efs
cro,vped Wit, success when tue com
,,,,s.o. accAp,ed the .American-in
srtroa resolution advocating restric-
tion of the production OF opium pop
p;es to the needs of meaacihe aH>'
science.
This was the message brought nacN
IA Washington by Mrs Hamilton
Wright. assessor OF the OPIUM au
visory committee. who gave ofie'
sfs5ement of activities at Geneva "
ronresentative of The Star toddE'
s,s ,rrivAd in New York SatufosS
nirht on the Aauitania.
Americas Mission Enlarged
asmerica's mission now. sne ,a,a, saiu
"issto foster interest anu me drug
n,tSat;on so that when the CONF.
n,ses next July are ready 70 ;,.aa
onS the intentions of the comm. ...a,,-
as@outiined in the rssotu.a to
TicIad America may be pFepaa,IIu
w ~, ,,.ith some of the most brliiaHis
;aS'I,scts Gopr of the old world on TINS
subject" n.s,. and Turkey
in .warring against narc0i,u ,i,,n, poppy
S,n1ion Is the first objective or
tp,,s. American delegation, Mrs. nf
staed. with the co-opera.,roonw rowins
these two centers OF poppy ss,nins
obtained, the pathway 40. India
s;rS;lar co-opcration from ~
sln,,ar m smooth, in her opinion, she
sad.
solution i'm suppressien.
,rr, ,r,.r;ca n people," Mrs. Wright
ss II. ..,,,n.. realize that the only basic
sas;,,snn of the problem, Which 10
focjne every city governTaent III lnS
United States today IN SUPP sres
the sale of narcotics and othsf f ui ~
is by checking me y. Ire source
rrrI,sl rrJItsp' can only be done By intcrna-
s.The people of the United STATES
who are struggling to check Ihe ia
Increasing menace of TINS eNlA' HnitaJ
resiize that by urging the ohi.ea
SECS government to back this move
r,,e-,t thew are saving their own com
n,,fnities. in the first place, pS IN
directly lowering their civic taxes "
the extent which appropriations are
pow necessary all over the county
Fn- the maintenance Of narcotic
sni.ads of the various police depar =
lnents; in the second place, oy q
6uetion in the care and reiier OF inc
addits and ineompetents nov no,,,ic .
sapy with their resulting economic
loss to the community which is now
suhtly creeping throughout the coun-
tryA This is an economic as Weit as
a moral problem and as such must pc
handled by the federal government.
Attended All Geneva Sessions.
Mrs. Wright attended all the %ses- %
-, a Ganpv1
the other American delegates-Bishop
Brent. former Surgeon General Blue
and Representative Porter. She was
recently reappointed assessor 70 tne
opfum advisory committee OF tne
League of nations by the council OF
the league sShe is the daughter OF
the late Senator William Drew Wash :
burn and the widow OF Hamilton
Wright Internationally known as
leader in the anti-narcotic movement.
Regarding activities at the Geneva
conference she stated that the Amer
icar delegation was a tentative repre-
sentati ton to the meeting OF the opium
advisory committee. Shortly after
the decision to send this representa-
tf,n to the meeting in Geneva. Repre-
sentative Porter, leader of the dele
CATION, laid down certain principles
upon whose acceptance the partlclpa-
ton of the United, States depended.
The contention of this government,
MIS-. w TlSflt SSLiu. " DO lliat thC VI aS
question can be checked only at its
sonrce-Turkey.- Persia or India.
Relative to the, foreign situation
Mrs. Wright said:
'"The Indian situation is very deli
cate one but granting that the eating
OF opium in that country is consider
ed legitimate pTactice-ft must be
recognized. If the opinion of the
natives themselves is to be given
credence, that the use has also given
fxya $n n rPmRdv
the convention was particularly
framed. Therefore it must be asked
why should India alone or all nations
under the authority of the convention
haYe the unique privilege of using or
abusing opium as she herself sect mt!
. Importance of Cooperation.
'orhe Importance of the cooperation
sof.these two great opium producing
countries has been repeatedly pointed
out, Turkeys incorporation of The
Eague convention in the treaty of
Lapsanne is of great moment and
equally significant was the part
played by Persia at the recent meet
ing Of the assembly. The Persian
delegate, Prince ArfaedDowleh. ex-
pFtssed on the part of his government
the desire to join with the other gov
ernments in devising practical pro-
gram in order to put into opera sion
tie principles embodied in the Amer
lean recommendations.
As he justly said of the produc-
tion of opium is to be eliminated or
restricted to medicinal requiremen
IL must be replaced by some other
crop in districts where the peasants
are DEPENDENT for their livelihood on
the poppy product. It is obviously a
task of great magnitude which calls
for careful examination and prac-
tical scheme OF substitution. But SO
FAR as Persia IL concerned she has ex-
pressed herself as ready to undertake
such an investigation and is ready
to withdraw her reservations in re-
gard to Article, III of the Hague con-
vention as soon as she can be given
a satisfactory constructive scheme
providing a substitute for the culti-
vstiont of opium.
''Persia's position is admirable and
along such lines as sketched by her
lies the only practicable and ultimate
solution of the problem. As the Per-
sian with very definite interests at
stake pointed out, though a Difficult,
1t is not an impossible task Ii is
for the purpose of working out some
such program of readjustment and
substitution that the assembly has
summoned the nations interested to
meet in conference"
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