This is an extraordinary statement, but it is true.  It goes without saying that the use of opium in any form is almost universally considered one of the most dangerous and destructive of vices, and it is not necessary in this connection to say anything on that side of the controversy.  It is interesting, however, and important, to know the facts and arguments used by the Indian government to justify its toleration of the vice, which, generally speaking, is based upon three propositions: 

1.  That the use of opium in moderation is necessary to thousands of honest, hard-working Hindus, and that its habitual consumers are among the most useful, the most vigorous and the most loyal portion of the population.  The Sikhs, who are the flower of the Indian army and the highest type of the native, are habitual opium smokers, and the Rajputs, who are considered the most manly, brave and progressive of the native population, use it almost universally.

2.  That the government cannot afford to lose the revenue and much less afford to undertake the expense and assume the risk of rebellion and disturbances incurred by any attempt at prohibition.

3.  That the export of opium to China and other countries is legitimate commerce.

The opium belt of India is about 600 miles long and 180 miles wide, lying just above a line drawn from Bombay to Calcutta.  The total area cultivated with poppies will average 575,000 acres.  The crop is grown in a few months in the summer, so that the land can produce another crop of corn or wheat during the rest of the year.  About 1,475,000 people are engaged in the cultivation of the poppy and about 6,000 in the manufacture of the drug.  The area is regulated by the government commissioners.  The smallest was in 1892, when only 454,243 acres were planted, and the maximum was reached in 1900, when 627,311 acres were planted.  In the latter year the government adopted 625,000 acres as the standard area, and 48,000 chests as the standard quantity to be produced in British india.  Hereafter these figures will not be exceeded.  The largest amount ever produced was in 1872, when the total quantity manufactured in British India was 61,536 chests of 140 pounds average weight.  The lowest amount during the last thirty-five years was in 1894, when only 37,539 chests were produced.  In addition to this from 20,000 to 30,000 chests are produced in the native states.

The annual average value of the crop for the last twenty years has been about $60,000,000 in American money, the annual revenue has been about $24,000,000, and the officials say that this is a moderate estimate of the sum which the reformers ask the government of India to sacrifice by suppressing the trade.  In addition to this the growers receive about $5,500,000 for opium “trash,” poppy seeds, oil and other by-products which are perfectly free from opium.  The “trash” is made of stalks and leaves and is used at the factories for packing purposes;