European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 19, 1948, Darmstadt, Hesse Frederic remain. Secretary general of la Ligue directs that organization s fight toward Temperance is not optimistic about its chances for Success. " " a France s lost cause by Richard Cohen a 30-year-old organization in Paris is devoted to Likely goal of persuading frenchmen to give up alcohol Paris a Lugue National contre l is an organization of about 4000 frenchmen devoted to what lesser men might Call the impossible. They seek nothing More nor less Tanto put an end to drinking in France. That such an organization should function in France the land where water is strictly for external use Only would seem to be As unlikely As a chapter of the Grange on Manhattan Island. But la Ligue National goitre 4 Alcor isme hereafter for the Sake of Brevity referred to As the league has for 30-Odd years been s love for the fruit of the Vine with a singleness of purpose matched Only by. The apparent unlikelihood of Success. The league operates from the very heart of enemy territory the left ban of Paris. Its Headquarters is a drab Musty store whose double windows Dis play most prop intently a few bottles of preserved cherries and a huge poster actually a mosaic which depicts a Young athlete slaying the dragon of drink behind which there is the legend Al Cohol. Enemy of sport. A Small hand lettered sign informs the Public that the poster was made of 32,000 pieces of paper by the children of the boys school at 30 Boulevard Arago. Directly across the Street is the historic old Church of St. Germain Des pres an catty cornered is the almost equally historic cafe Aux Deus maggots a Liston whose patrons from Flaubert to Jean Paul Sartre reads like a French who a who of drinkers. M. Frederic remain Secretary general of the league sincere belongs another Parish has of 22 " course never set foot in either of buildings. M. Remain a grave gentleman who is tall,.stooped and about 70 years old is also the league s founder and since its birth in 1910, he has sternly and unflagging by guided its destinies. Thing today Are not looking up for the league. Alcoholic consumption is on the increase in France since the liberation remain admits sadly. This is because during the nazi occupation wine was rationed and the Boche took away Al the distilled liquors like Cognac. It is paradoxical that the rapacity of France enemy should have helped us in our work to rid France of her greatest Scourge alcohol. But drinking is still not As widespread As it was before the Wannow prices Are too High and so much goes for Export. Perhaps France s eco nomic weakness will help make her physically remain and the league Are convinced that France s great capacity for liquor has debilitated her and there is a poster in their win Dow explaining that France lost four consecutive track meets with Sweden in 1821-24 for this very reason. The Waite sat the Deus maggots do not agree with this. It is simply that swedes can run faster than. Frenchmen one of them snorts. The league is not alone in its work in Europe. It has its counterpart in almost every country on the continent All the leagues belong to the Bureau International Centre i Are having a Congress next july fourth at Laus Anne says remain Buti Don t know what nations will be rep resented. Some years some leagues die out sometimes they Are revived unexpectedly. We Are in touch with Man of the leagues All the time. I have heard of the w. C. T. U. In America but wed not correspond with them. Nor arc we a political party like your prohibitionist actually the goals and methods of the league resemble neither of the great american Temperance organizations nor does it indulge in antics like the barroom busting of Carrie commendable gallic logic it real izes that you can t legislate against drinking. We know what a failure your eighteenth amendment was remain says and How much contraband there was. We Are merely trying to educate people to the evils of drink. We Are absolutely opposed to distilled drinks liqueurs and brandies and Are for mod oration in the use of fermented drinks like wine and Beer. Sometimes our work seems like that of sisyphus. The latter he carefully explains was the mythological character condemned to eternal punishment of pushing a heavy Rock up a Steep Hill but never quite Able to gel it to the top. We always need Money remain likes to Point out even though we Are supported by membership dues an subsidized by the government the prov inces and certain cities because we area Utility a oblique. Once in a while some one some Money in his will but not very the fact of the matter is that few parisians have Ever heard of the league. When its existence is called to their attention they whistle in disbelief or Grunt unsympathetic ally. I have. Enough to worry about without the idea of prohibition observed one Barman. Some parisians think it is the communists who Are the ones that want to ban alcohol. This comes about because a former woman communist member of Paris s municipal Council Richard who has made violent speeches against liquor and was she who inspired the Law that closed the bordello. There Are also those who think of alcohol s chief enemy As a. Daniel Parker who Heads the Cartel d action morale it socials and is against drinking smoking and nude dancing in the night clubs. His Fame rests chiefly on his efforts to have Henry Miller s novels banned in Paris. I Nain does not know either of these two an the Lea gue carries on without their help. We have one Deputy in the National Assembly,.m. Georges Sennier and of course Madame the minister of health is on our the Battle he says encouragingly. We have succeeded he continues in making it obligatory that every school child be taught the effects of Al Cohol and by decree there must be a question on alcohol on the examination for the primary school this is very much like what american children Are taught in their Hygiene classes in elementary school. We Haven legislative program remain Points out. Our work is Only with the children and with the the league has decided that Best method of attacking alcohol is to get at people before the habit starts. Along with this there has been a definite change in the league s propaganda Campaign. Until a few ,.its publicity was the old tried and True horror Type. The brutalizing effects of liquor were shown by posters depicting a Man beating his wife in Drunken frenzy or by the classic series that shows a Man s downfall from the first drink through drunkenness crimean ultimately his wife and babies reduced to begging. The emphasis is now placed on the benefits to be derive from not drinking and How abstinence makes an athlete. One poster shows a couple of clean Cut youngsters and the legend let us rebuild France on firm foundation. Never an other shows a handsome and Rugge Young athlete performing in a stadium and the sign says. Athletes drink Perrier undoubtedly the work of the Mineral water. Interests. We Are opposed in our work by the liquor interests says remain arid by the fact that More than four million frenchmen earn their living through liquor. Of course if liquor were abolished a million of them could be absorbed in some other line of would the league do with the other three million?."that is something we Haven t been compelled to figure out yet and at the moment that problem does t seem Likely to arise in the very near application Lois Dwarf Mark Fitzgerald of n. Y. Bonus staff. Veterans payoff gets under Way continued from Page s though some of the proposals be All the proposals and actions taken however veterans should no expect too much from Congress or the election year. After All it was not until some dozen years after the first War that received their Federal Bon usin the form of Bonds. One thing is certain however that Money will be appropriated and Veter ans will not be overlooked in spite of the International Aid Uncle Sam is Shell ing out if Connecticut is an indication vets Are not yet flocking in to collect the bonuses. Good times and High salaries still make it appear that bonuses Are not yet on the veterans minds. " Connecticut officials said All applications must be filed before july 1,1949. The staff is being greatly reduced because of Lack of applications being filed for veterans overseas who Are in need of Bonus application Blanks should write to their respective states. Here Are the exact addresses of those bureaus that responded to a weekend questionnaire. Ohio world War ii compensation fund 293 East Long Street Columbus 15, Ohio. Illinois veterans having Resi Dence in Cook county will mail applications to service recognition Board. 2i8 West Monroe Street Chicago having residence in All other counties will mail applications to serv ice recognition Board 301 West Adams Street May be obtained from the adjutant general office and should be mailed to that office in montpelier.1&lchiganapplications May be obtained from the adjutant general Lansing 1. Massachusetts applications May be obtained and forwarded to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts stat treasurer Bonus division Ford Hall 15 Ashburton place Boston 8.new Hampshire forms May be obtained from the adjutant. General state House Concord. Connecticut off ice of the treasurer veterans Bonus division Hart Ford 15.new York veterans Bonus Bureau department of taxation and finance Albany. Answer to last week s Puzzle weekend june. It
