THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS: Reports, Discussions

In Paris, the Council of the League of Nations continued its session. Among the subjects discussed: slavery, traffic in arms, opium, Russian refugees.

Slavery. A report of the Council decided after some debate to refer all future questions and inquiry to a special commission, which is to be created “if the funds of the League can stand the strain.” Otherwise, apparently, references will be made in future to the Mandates Commission or to the International Bureau in Brussels.

Traffic in Arms. In a letter to the U. S. Government, Hjalmar Branting,ex-Premier of Sweden and Acting President of the Council, called attention to the nonratification by the U. S. of the St. Germain Convention, which aimed at limiting the traffic in arms by restricting private firms in manufacture and sale. The letter was to the effect that the U. S., through declining to ratify the Convention, had kept other arms-trading nations (Britain, France, Italy in particular) from ratifying the measure, although she had expressed “cordial sympathy” with the efforts to restrict the trade. The League proposed to draft another convention, which would, however, come to nothing unless the U. S. were a party to it. The League, therefore, invited the U. S. to state the restrictions in the traffic of arms to which she would subscribe.

Opium. The Council decided to call two conferences on the opium traffic at Geneva, in November, 1924. One will consider the limitation of the manufacture of the drug to scientific and medical needs, the other will consider the strategy of a war on opium. It was decided to name a committee to prepare plans for the conferences.

Russian Refugees. An extensive report on Russian Refugees was adopted by the Council with resolutions asking all the Governments to continue to support Dr. Nansen, head of the League movement in support of refugees. The report itself expressed thanks to the Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in Manhattan for help in establishing a scientific institute for the Russian exiles in Berlin; thanked the French Government for encouraging Russian immigration; stated that the High Commission is taking energetic steps to obtain the evacutaion to the U. S. of several hundred thousand refugees in Poland, Rumania, Constantinople. “Unfortunately,” the report added, “the High Commission is prevented by the immigration restrictions from effecting this evacuation before it is too late. We take the opportunity of paying tribute to the fine humanitarian work of the Russian Refugees Relief Society in New York, which finds employment for Russians arriving in the United States “