Has China no just cause for-complaint against the thousands of Pounds weight of narcotics smuggle ed yearly into this country? When some of the recent reports of the International Anti-Opium Assai tion are reviewed regarding Eu: toms seizures of morphia; the poli seizures of morphia and morphia pills; the fact that nearly. three-quarters of a million dollars was imposed as fines during 1924 in 75. slews (more than half the total number) in the metropolitan _province of Chibli—and the traffic in Ghibli is not so great as that either Shantung, Honan or Manchuria when a well known morphia Pill maker turns out almost half million pills daily; when pill shops jexeeed the opium dens in number in country towns; it is not difficult to imagine the destructive ravages of this drug. There is hope even for the inveterate opium smoker but practically none for the mor-hia eater.
The United States Government has shown that after a cure extending over six months, over 70 per Jcent. of their drug victims revert the habit, hence their determination to restrict production. The mareotic drug condition of the provinees north of the River is deplorable, and we say without hesitation that of the two habits opium almost innocent when compared with morphia, and a thousand times better would it be for China to permit and even encourage opium smoking, if no way can be found save the people from morphia, Futility of Drug Control Foreign morphia is being seized by the Maritime Customs at almost every port, and incomes from four great manufacturing countries—Japan, Germany, Switzerland and France, "Not an ounce of morphia has been seized in China during 1923 and 1924 from Great Britain or the United States. The League! fof Nations. Convention has been tion' arrive ata satisfactory decision. It was to be expected; we don't want control, we want restricted production, So long as any single nation is allowed to manufacture world's tupply of morphia, s0 long will smuggling continue despite government certificates of import and export. Look at the hundreds of Pounds of Japanese—morph seized yearly in China and the almost thousands of pounds _undetected, yot not an ounce of it supposed to leave Jupan except by permit of the Prefectural Governor of the place of export. 'The Japanese Customs export of morphia is eligible, and yet her manufacture 10. times ter than her home requirements. Will' manufacturers continue from your to year piling up stocks if no utlct exists? The League Nations after years of work now knows the total requirement of the world for medical purposes. Lo this amount be divided in a just proportion between the manufacturing nations, and let guarantees be sgivon that no more than this wil bbe produced. It is easy to control manufacturers, just as excise is controlled in every country, but it is absolutely futile to expect to control the destination of surplus tons of morphia if once manufactured.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.