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Show THE LEAGUE AND NARCOTICS. Those who insist that the failure 1 r,f t-lio TTnifoH RtntpQ t.n hplonp" to thf? League of Nations handicaps this country in the work of international cooperation for the good of the world, may find some food for thought in the recently published statement of Dr. Kurt Pohlisch, of Berlin, noted international in-ternational drug expert, who declares that the League of Nations' narcotic organization has fallen down on the job, despite the attempted cooperation coopera-tion of the American government, and that the only effective work has been done by the World Narcotic Defense De-fense Organization, with headquarters headquar-ters in Geneva, New York and Los Angeles, and its support derived entirely en-tirely from Americans. By this organization, or-ganization, Dr. Pohlisch says, "startling "start-ling results have been obtained. For 10 years the league has been ostensibly dealing with the drug problem, one of the most serious confronting con-fronting humanity. American delev-gates delev-gates to Geneva conferences have discovered dis-covered that the representatives of certain powerful nations attend these conferences with loud professions of a desire to curb the "dope" business, but always ready to put up a fight for their own share of the international interna-tional narcotic trade. The only tangible tan-gible result of all this babble has been the erection of new drug factor-ties factor-ties in Switzerland and France. Narcotics constitute an internation-al internation-al problem because the traffic is carried car-ried on by international drug rings, which engage in illicit production and smuggling. The traditional attitude of This is practically illustrated in this matter of international narcotic control, con-trol, a field in which reform could j long ago have been accomplished if there had been any real desire to do it on the part of anybody present but the American Delegates. George B. Lockwood. European governments toward this traffic may be better understood when it is remembered that Great Britain once fought a war to force the commerce in narcotics on China. In the deliberation of the various conferences con-ferences on narcotics under1 the auspices aus-pices of the League of Nations it has been discovered that the money to be made out of the nefarious narcotic habit has been a more powerful influence influ-ence than idealism. Of course this record does not exactly ex-actly fit in with the theories of our dreamy-eyed internationalists who always al-ways proceed on the premise that the United States is the one . grasping, commercialized, greedy and selfish nation of the world and that all the other nations are panting for peace, good will and idealism in world affairs. af-fairs. But the facts do not fit in with any of the theories of the internationalists. interna-tionalists. When Uncle Sam sits down at the council table of the League of Nations, if a persistent minority ever slips this program over on the American Am-erican people, he will not be, as is claimed by our internationalists gathered gath-ered in an assembly of saints, but of shrewd, experienced, dimplomatic poker players who know the game a good deal better than America does. |