OPIUM DENS
AN EVANGELIST'S STATEMENT. Mr H. E. Dean, an evangelist worker in Sydney, has made the follow ing statement in regard to the opium .smoking evil: —■ "As an evangelist in the city ol Sydney," Mr Dean navs, "I would like to corroborate the statements made by Ik>v. S. I>. Yarrington concerning opium dens in the city of Sydney. In my work as factory and slum worker I come in contact with all classes and conditions om men —some of the very highest and many of the very lowest and almost every one. of them state that there are such places as opium dens in the city of Sydney. During the last few days I have been paying special attention to he Chinese and their homes, and I have come across some wretched sights. Anybody with half an eve and an ounce of brains knows quite well that quite a number of the icehouses occupied by the yellow men are. nothing .short- of vile opium dens. One can see when visiting these places the outward and visible sign of opium smoking. This is clearly seen by the number of Ohinc.se, white men, and girls that are continually (locking into them. Most of these men and girls admit without a blush of shame that they indulge in the awful habit of opium smoking, and the places where they go to smoke it are dens carried on by Chinamen. "I would like to state that just. :: few evenings ago I spent the whole of one nigh visiting these dens and the sights f saw wove enought te turn ;i man's hair grey. During m\ night's work 1 came across no los:tlian .">0 white girls, 30 of whom were', under the influence of strong drink i or opium. I think by the .smell of I them that it was the later. Only the other morning I saw three young girls reel out of one of these wretched dens ' into the street.. During my missionary work from week to week I enter | quite a number of these places, but. it is almost impossible to get in ii.l evervtliing is cleared away. It doesn't take "John" long to make thingr ship-shape but one can tell by the atmosphere of the place and the halfdodeti Chinamen and girls sitting and standing round that they Have been indulging in opium. Most of those in authority admit that opium smoking , goes on in Sydney. Then if opium smoking goes on we must have the opium dens;.. "It is generally admitted that some of the old hands still indulge in the habit. Then why not find out these old hands and ascertain where they get te opium from. If this were done then we would get to the root of the matter, and the whole thing would be solved. Are we going to allow these old hands to continue their smoking? Isn't it a disgrace to our Fair city a stumbling block to the girls ant' 'boys? Then if it is so. let us, by the help of God. crush it out. As a young Australia and a lover of riphteousnosr and a clean.city I shall lend any help r.... ■•] •i: L :"i:cii'vn r '■ Mn'' awful mm. c ster." ' j , in ,i - i„.Miw„r i 1
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Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10718, 1 November 1912, Page 7
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546OPIUM DENS Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10718, 1 November 1912, Page 7
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