Evening star., 1924-04-16

men when sent out on a violent
crime. for 1t destroys all conscience
all sense. OF obligation to fellow men
and gives an abnormal courage and
Quickness of action. 49, -s-s
= 80. '---..
In December, 1916, DR.. Rupert Blue.
then surgeon general of. the public
health service, issued an official or
der to medical officers stating that
"heroin as a palliative in certain res
piratory affections serves no purpose
which cannot be accomplished by
out the attendant possibility Of grave
disaster. You are therefore directed
70 discontinue dispensing heroin or
its salts at relief stations and send
all stock of these drugs now on hand
to the purveying depot at Wa shiug-
ton" o.. 49,.
In December, 1928, DR.. N. ". Ire
land, surgeon general of the Army.
ordered the total discontinuance of
heroin in the Army. On February .,
1924, the surgeon general OF the Navy
gave the same order. March 10, 1924,
the assistant director Of the Veterans
Bureau ordered its use stopped in all
veterans' hospitals.
The American MedicaIE Society, at
it's n1eetin Tin New Orleans In 1920.
! through. unanimous vote of its
house of delegates resolved that
| heroin be eliminated from all medici-
nal preparations and that IL should
1 not be prescr bed or dispensed, and
that the importation, manufacture
and sale should be prohibited in the
United States"
-Es..'s s.'s .z'.... y X x
Herolr$ cannot be bought at drug
stores, yet, according to DR.. Charles
w. Richardson of Washington. there
is used annually in New York alone
for tho production Of addiots $4,000
ounces of s.heroin ("snow'), although
14,00e physicians use only SO ounces.
All the rest is smuggled and ped
died by heroin bootleggers. The
traffic is extremely difficult to stop.
because the dose is so small that a
thousand dollars worth can be car
.ried in a, vest pocket and $35.00o in a
suit case. A first dose is enough to
dethrone reason and all conscience
and convert the victim into a reck-
egotfsrp. and with desperation to get
more. = s:E..>
=. = =
From the beginning, the fight
against Opium has been led by the
Unitad Sta tessf It is chiefly opposed
sby Great; Britain because nearly half
OF Britaifis. revenues for the support
of her colonies come from govern
ment monopoly of opium. Chiefly
in India the culture of poppies, the
source of opium, Is encouraged by
the government Any farmer desir-
ing TO raise poppies can get license
stating the acreage, and whatever
capital he needs is provided without
interest upon a government loan. All
the crop is delivered to government
opium factories.
China has been the worst sufferer
from enforced traffic in India-produced
opium. In 1914, the United States
made its first opium treaty with
China, whereby this country agreed
that any American dealing in opium
in China should be prosecuted by the
Chinese courts with no protection
ment was extended so that any Amer
lean vessel carrying opium into China
would be forfeited to China. Later
treaties expanded our concessions,
giving China free hand with Ameri-
can opium smugglers, and the same
treaties were made as to Korea and
Japan.
x *
When We acquired the Philippine
Islands, the opium abuse was said to
be impossible to suppress. s.
In 1900 the Philippines imported
of opium $4,000 pounds; in 1901,
369,0oe pounds. Eighteen years after,
in 1918, the islands imported only
235 pounds and in 1921 only 1s2
pounds. We have demonstrated that
the open imports can be stopped, but
smuggling can be controlled only by
curtailing the world supply where
the poppies are grown-main1y in
India, Persia. Turkey and Egypt.
The masses Of the English people
are said to be uniformed as to the
terrible responsibility Of their gov
eminent, dominated by greed, not
only official, but of corrupt traffick-
ers and smugglers. .-..-.
Copyright, 1924, by Paul Y co;1ins,,-