6
655
:
The Malay booklets "obat pemboenoeh madat"
("Medicine to do away with opium"), "Dari hal tjandoe" ("About chandu") and "Djaoehkan dirimee dari pada tjandoe" (Bevare of Chandu) were le nt out by the People's Libraries respectively 1607, 1041 and 1254 times, while 194, 114, 108 copies respectively thereof were sold, The Javanese edition Serat erang-erang" was lent out 1273 times and 266 copies of it were sold. For the Madurese edition, "Pabinjebli", the figures were: lent out 123 times and sold 106 copies.
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4 subsidy was given to an Anti-opium hospital, established by a society subject to conditions, the purpose of which was to ensure that the treatment of the patients would be given under proper medical supervision, and that the hospital also otherwise satisfied proper requirements. Then at an inspection by the Medical Service it was observed that those conditions were not followed up, the subsidy was again withdrawn. It was also made known by the Netherlands Indian Government, that if any one should succeed in discovering an anti-opium medicine, which contained no morphine of other substances injurious to the health, it was prepared
obtainable to make that medicine known everywhere, and to make it at cost orice.
Further a Commission for combating the use
of opium was appointed, which gives advise in questions of choice of combative measures, European, Native and Chinese members have sents in this commission,
In fighting against the use of opium, the Government certainly gets appreciation from certain sections of the population, but it is not supported by a powerful movement against oplum set up by the inhabitanta themselves.
An Anti-opium Society was certainly formed. Nothwithstanding that it had the promise, that it could count upon strong financial support from the Govern- ment for its propaganda-work, that society has known no sign of
life.
A Society "de Nieuwe Akker" formed later, consisting of total abstainers, has assiduously taken up the battle agrinst alcohol and opium, and amongst other things publishes a monthly paper.
(1) This was the lenentrble result of circumstances, not dependent
on the will of that society.
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