The daily worker., 1925-02-14
BY JACK LEcKIE

~ after six weeks abortive discus
sion adjuoraad until Jan, IL, 1925 SO
as to allow the various delegates rep
resenting 37 different countries an OPP
portunity wherein to consult their
respective governments The disputes
involves the 1egalizing and regulation
or the abolition of the worlds opium
traffic, The principal antagonists
were America versus the British gov
ernment in India. The former stands
for the restriction of the drug traffic
to the scientific medical needs of the
world the latter stands for the regu
lation of the trade on the basis of the
worlds legitimate needs.
IN reality what stands behind the
| beautiful foundations of these in
ternational humanitarians? Already
at Hague in's1s12 an international
conference agreed upon the following
points: pcsR3 3za&}g9.
/. The suppression Of opium
smoking. op'. 'es
2. The restriction Of exports and
imports Of prepared opium to opium
smoking countries.
8. The adoption OF measures for
the suppression of the illegal cuIti-
walton Of the poppy In China.
TOWARDS the conclusion Of the
i Versailles peace treaty confer
ence the articles of the Hague Opium
convention (191O was included in the
covenant Of the assembly of the
league of nations. In subsequent
conventions notably 1922, Great Brit
ain in spite of Americas protest sue
cessfully induced the league to inter
pret the Hague articles as meaning
legitimate as opposed to scientific and
medical needs. America stated that
this constituted complete parversion
of the original intantion and in 1923
requested that world conference
should be held again IN 1924 at which
the matter could be threshed out to a
more satisfactory conclusion.
Ms regards the a11icIessof the Hague
n convention it has been found in
practice that they have been outrage
ously douted by all the chief sigma
tories. The prohibition against the
export and import of prepared opium
was simply got over by exporting and
importing raw opium instead. Thru
out the far East, especially In Hong
Kong, Singapore, Saigon and Macao;
British, French and Japanese inter
ests built large factories for the pre-.
sentation of the stun. Worse still.
French and German chemical science
in the discovery of morphine and
heroin has been firightfully taken ad-
vantage Of
N LSO. the coca plant-natiYe of
n South America-has been recent
ly introduced into Ceylon and else
where for the purposes of cocaine
manufacture. Thus the evils of the
opium traffic have been terribly aggra-
waited % because Of the concentrated
intensity and social destroying nature
Of these later drug inventions and (2)
because they constitute form of in
dulgence which was not prohibited
under the old eastern forms Of re-
ligion. In the 1924 conference India,
who was supported by England,
France, Portugal, Switzerland, Ger
many, etc. was the chief opponent of
America who was supported by China,
Japan, Persia, Canada, Irish Free
State, etc.
n S India has been internationally
n condemned for her opposition to
America it is necessary at this juno
ture to clearly understand the extent
Of her responsibility. In 1919 she won
a form of so-called self government
which functions in two parts % the
central government which has control
over the army, navy, air forces, cen
trail police, salt tax, income tax, post
railroads, telegraph, etc, and "the
right Of control over the cultivation Of