Evening star., 1938-06-19
Japan's Eternal Shame.

From day to day the calendar of
Japan's crimes in China mounts ever
higher, but it is doubtful whether any
graver indictment has yet been leveled
against the islanders during their ruth
less war than the revelation just made
before the League of Nations Opium
Advisory Committee Stuart j. Fuller,
the United States delegate at the meet
ing now in session at Geneva, giving
chapter-and-verse dates and figures in
substantiation of his charges, declared
that the japanese Army in China is now
importing and distributing raw opium by
the tens of tons, and propagating the
use OF the devastating drug for the
avowed purpose of undermining the
health, unity and morale of the Chinese
people. Mr.. Fuller implied that Japans
eventual aim is to flood the United States
and Europe with heroin, as China has
already been deluged. A single gang
operating in the Japanese concession
at Tientsin, he said, sent to the United
States in fifteen months heroin worth
$10,000000 at the illicit retail rate. The
startling allegations of the State De-
partment representative were later sup
ported by China's spokesman and by the
delegates of Egypt, Canada and Great
Britain.
Eli Anau once the world famed off
clal spokesman" of the Toxic foreign
Office, the delegate of the japanese gov
eminent, faced the committee and cate
gorically denied that either Japanese
officials or military forces are involved
ln-Iliclt narcotic traffic" Mr.. Amau's
declaration was promptly challenged by
1ndia's delegate, who said the Geneva
committee had heard similar accusations
year after year, along with Japan's de-
mails and promises, yet the only change
had been for the worse What appears
to have been knockoht blow for the
Japanese disavoWal was the offer of
Chlna's representative, DR. Hoo, to show
the committee moving pictures of the
narcotic traffic which the Chinese claim
10 nave uncovered in the japanese con-
cessions at Hankow after the invaders
withdrew last year from Chiangs now
threatened fugitive capital.
The United States placed the opium
problem on the international stage in
1908 and was making definite progress
toward its solution until the World War.
Under the Versailles treaty the question
was transferred to the League, some
seventeen years ago. While much valu-
able information has been collected in
Geneva, and conference there in 1881
resulted in the substantial reduction of
the manufacture OF drugs by government
factories, the source of the evil, the
poppy, has f1ourished unabated. Control
OF government factories, therefore, simply
led to the springing up of moonshine
plants or stills not only in Europe but
In Asia. Perhaps because of the growing
menace of the opium evil in both the
West and the East or the dangerous con-
nection between drugs and crime in our
part of the world, or on account of rising
resentment of the Leagues general in
effectiveness, that decomposing body has
taken up anew the attempt launched by
the United States to bring the poppy
itself under control.
But for the moment, it is Japan's
f1agrant attempt to dope" the enemy
she cannot crush by military measures,
which challenges an outraged worlds
attention and re-emphasizes the demand
for the suppression of one of mankind's
crowning curses.