Evening star., 1923-10-23
Sir Francis Aglen Keeps China
In Line ON Payments of Debts

more injuriously affected by the NOR
phine injection habit than they ever
were by the smoking of opium, and
places the responsibility upon two
nations, namely. upon his owp coun-
try. Great Britain. and upon Japan.
He complains that Great Britain
permits the owth OF opium poppies
in India, vastly in excess OF the local
consumption. and thus encourages the
manufacture therefrom in England
and in America, and in Germany, as
well as in Japan, OF morphia and
other pernfcious drugs. millions per
cent beyond the legitimate require
ments of the whole world. Official
statistics show an average importa-
tion into America of 300 tons of crude
opium, which, manufactured into the
about forty tons Of morphia and other
noXious drugs. 1t is also shown that
one ton of morphia should suffice for
the annual medical needs of the en-
to Patagonia. Sir Francis Aglen
shows that one ton of morphia is
equiv alent to 32,000,000 injections and
that, although the Importation of
its kindred drugs to China is strictly
forbidden. yet that thousands of tons OF
crude Indian opium are being snug
gled into the country, and that the
bulk OF the opium converted into
morphia, etc, in Great Britain. Ger
many. the United States and Japan is
smuggled into China, mostly through
Korea, and through Japanese ports
on the mainland of Asia.
The United States forbids the ex-
port Of morphia, or. indeed, of opium
in any form, to China. except for
medicinal purposes But there is no
restriction upon its export to Japan.
or upon It's transport. in bond,
through the United States to Japan,
from Great Britain and from Ger
many. and. as Sir Francis has pointed
out, the smuggling of the drugs from
Japan into China is conducted on the
thousands of motor boats being de-
voted to the clandestine trade. In
fact, much of the work of Sir Francis
Aglen's maritime customs depart
hopeless task of preventing morphia
from reaching the nation whose Gus
toms service he is administering with
so much independence and integrity.
have on several occasions called
attention to the revelations resulting
from the removal of the ban of
secrecy upon the archives both Of the
house of Hapsburg and Of the i'm
perial government. And records and
memoirs that were arbitrarily sup
pressed and strictly prohibited as
long as the dynasty occupied the
throne at Vienna are now being ex-
posed to the light of day. Among the
many interesting disclosures of this
character are the "reminiscences of
Nine. vicenzo Nunziante. whose hus-
band for more than twenty years was
the chief male dancer of the famous
corps de ballet of the Imperial Opera
at Vienna.
Her maiden name was Marie Stubel
and it was her younger sister, Mill
Stubel, with whom Archduke John
last fifteen years of his existence in
Austria, and whom he married in
London, after his departure from
his native land. the loss of his honors
snip, and before he started with her on
that sailing ship, the Santa Margherita,
of which he was not only the owner and
skipper, on that voyage to VAL
paraiso via Cape Horn, from which
he was never to return, and during
the course Of which he as well as his
wife and his crew disappeared, thirty
three years ago, without leaving the
slightest trace.
Archduke John was in the habit Of
frequenting the home of Mill Stu
bers older sister, and of her husband,
at Vienna. and Marie Stubel's very
exhaustive "reminiscences of the arch
duke. who used familiarity to be
known, both by the Stubels and by
his imperial relatives. as "Gianni,"
would go to show that his departure
from Austria and his abandonment of
his membership of the house of
Hapsburg was due to the fact that
he was aware that the government
was in possession of evidence of the
fact that he had been engaged in
conspiracy to compel the abdication
of Emperor Francis Joseph in favor
Of his only son, the Inflated Crown
Prince Rudolph. with a view to the
abolition of glaring abuse and the
Introduction of urgent reforms In the
civil and especially in the military
administration of the dual empire,
to which the Cameritta surrounding
the emperor was bitterly and desper-
ately opposed.
Marie Stubel, in calling attention
to the close and intimate friendship
which existed between Archduke
"Gianni" and Crown Prince Rudolph,
conveys the inference that the crown
prince was in some way privy to, II
not an active participant in, the con-
spiracy, and that II was his tragic
death at Meyerling, Immediately pre-
ceding the departure of the archduke
from Austria, which placed the evil
dence against him IN the hands of
the emperor. who uld .have been
obliged to proceed ,aSgainst hfm on
charges of high TREASON IL he had
mad In Wanna