House Doc. No. 861, 62d Congress, 2d
sess.
To enable this Government to continue its efforts to mitigate if
not entirely stamp out the opium, morphine, and other allied
drug evils by further investigations and proceedings, and
through another international conference, if necessary, to make
effective the results heretofore accomplished, twenty-five
thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to be
expended under the direction of the Secretary of State.
The Secretary of State
to the Secretary of the
Treasury.
Department of State,
Washington,
June 29, 1912.
Sir: For some five years past this
Government has been in the forefront of the international effort to
eradicate the opium evil as seen in far eastern countries, more
especially in China and in the Philippine Islands. On the initiative
of this Government there have been held, first, an international
commission to scientifically study the various aspects of the
question, and, recently, an international opium conference, composed
of delegates with full powers, to give the force of law and of
international agreement to the recommendations of the previously
held commission. In all this time this Government has had the hearty
cooperation of 12 other nations of Europe and Asia, and the movement
has been broadened so as to include the opium and allied evils as
seen in the national territories of the powers concerned. By the
international opium convention signed at The Hague on January 23
last the movement was still further broadened, provision having been
made for the cooperation of the remaining 34 powers of Europe and
America.
On May 28 last I had the honor to transmit to the President, who in
turn transmitted it to the Congress (S. Doc. No. 733, 62d Cong., 2d
sess.), a report2 of the American
delegation to the international opium conference. This report
carefully analyses what has already been accomplished by the
thirteen Governments concerned, and also the convention signed at
The Hague, and explains the diplomatic and economic difficulties
which may make necessary the holding of another conference at The
Hague in the near future, at which final action on the questions
involved is to be taken.
Pending future international action by the large number of powers
concerned, it is essential that this Government continue its
activity in the consideration of legislation and other matters
necessary to enable the United States to redeem pledges entered into
by virtue of the international opium convention recently signed at
The Hague, and to assist the Netherlands Government to obtain
adhesion to the convention by the Latin-American States.
Appropriations made by the Congress for the furtherance of this work
have been set forth in the above-mentioned Senate document, and it
has been pointed out therein that the $45,000 thus appropriated has
been more than economically administered, and that the results
attained by the Department of State have been highly gratifying
considering the limited amount of the appropriation. It has
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been pointed out that the
direct benefit which has accrued to the United States and its
possessions as the result of the international movement for the
settlement of the opium problem has been many times greater than the
amount so far appropriated by the Congress and, further, that it has
been a principle of the Department of State to request small
appropriations to carry on the work as it develops, rather than a
single large appropriation which it has known might be necessary to
bring the work to a conclusion.
The appropriation made by the Congress is now practically exhausted,
and an additional sum is necessary for the conclusion of the great
humanitarian object, through the cooperation of the Federal
Government with that of the Netherlands and with those of the other
foreign powers.
I have therefore the honor to request that you be good enough to
submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, with a view
to its inclusion in the general deficiency bill, the following item
of appropriation:
To enable this Government to continue its efforts to mitigate
if not entirely stamp out the opium, morphine, and other
allied drug evils by further investigations and proceedings
and through another international conference, if necessary,
to make effective the results heretofore accomplished,
twenty-five thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be
necessary, to be expended under the direction of the
Secretary of State.
I have [etc.].
Note.—On July 10, 1912, the Secretary
of the Treasury called the attention of Congress to the
foregoing letter of July 2, 1912, and added his own
recommendation to that of the Secretary of State, relative to
the urgency of the desired appropriation of $25,000. (House Doc.
1043, 62d Congress, 3d session.)
