The Washington times., 1923-03-25
dope EVIL CENTERS
in INDIA, SAYS CHOSE
Blames British Monopoly and
Substituting Of Poppy
Growers.
NATIVE CHIEFS COMBAT IT
Urges American Pressure Be
Brought Upon Gov
ernnents.
NATIVE CHIEFS COMBAT IT

A mass meeting Uiu be held IN
Madison Square Garden, New
York, tonight, to launch a campaign
against cstltiv0tio1t Of the poppy
~ India, one of the chief scoMfces
tot supply of the AnsericGm market,
resetLtin0 IN thousands of dYMg 0d-
diets IN this country. Friends of
Freedom for India haze Joined the
G1stS-1sGTcOtic crusaders and hope
to stamp Ostt, through education of
the I1adiGD 1sGtives, the eVils Of
opium farming, svhich Is financed
by the British government.
BY SAILENDRA NATH CHOSE,
National Director, Friends Of Free.
dom for India.
(WrItten for CosrnopOIitnn News
service.)
NEW YORK, March 2S.-India Il
the key to the solution 81 the
narcotic evil, which today ID caus.
ing grave concern throughout the
world, particularly In America.
The cultivation, growth and dis.
tribution Of opium il g British
monopoly and has created two
opium wars on China during the
nineteenth century. British opium
interests hold inftuTnerable public
auctions when the sopium IL bought
and struggled out to various coun.
tries, at tremendous profit. America
receives most OF her opium stores
bought ct these public opium sales
In Calcutta.
The British government In Tndia
advances money to opium cultiy0r
tors drawing no interest on their
loans, forcing these cultivators "a
sell their raw products to the
government at q price fixed by
the latter who have factories es.
tablished for opium manufacture
and who then Distribute it througll
their $4,000 established opium dens.
Opium can be purchased by any
one without restriction.
NATIVES FIGHT MENACE.
Through this well organized and
practically bribed system Of opium
cultivation and manufacture, India
produces more than 1900 tons Of
opium annually.
Since 1921 the India National Con
gress has taken up the task Of sup
pressing this evil by picketing thu
opium dens and educating the peo
pie 40 to the drastic physical and
mental results through the use 81
opium and other habit-formine
drugs. They have also urged the
Icultivators to boycott any proposal
advanced by the British govern
ment or any other source to cult
vate the poppy plant.
In the latter part Of 1921 more
than 181 900 acres of the most fer
tile land was set aside for cuItiva,
ton Of the poppy plant. Today this
acreage has been reduced. though
not substantially.
Recognized leaders like Mahat
ma M. *. Gandhi, Rabindranath
Tagore. the Ali Brothers. G. n. Das
and other public workers are deter
mined to eradicate this stigma
PREFERS FOODSTUFFS.
India herself recognized this
opium menace. She knows she II
the root OF the question and be
Ieves that the only way to stor
this drug traffic is to restrict OF
prohibit the cultivation Of the pop
by plant. India would far rather
use that land to cultivate foodstuffl
that the average Indian might have
more than one bowl Of rice a day.
India, Turkey and Persia are the
chief sources Of the poppy plant
and If opinion throughout the world
could be created which would bring
pressure upon the government OF
those countries they would be
forced to prohibit the cultivation
Of the plant.
Americans who are fighting the
menace would do well to face the
situation without reserve. They
should call upon the governments
Of the world who are interested in
the production Of opium and force
them to stop production, and IL they
refuse, an appeal should be made
to the cultivators.
American organizations should
send their own representatives into
India, Turkey and Persia in order
to make sure that this shall be
done.
Mexican Scholarship
at Yale Is Endowed