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1926: Back to Europe

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During the 3-part series of articles, from November 1925 to February 1926, Tobin reports from overseas during another meeting of the League of Nations in Geneva, traveling throughout Europe on a trip that appears to be both personal and business.

“Here we are in Florence!” declares Tobin in 1926, showcasing a side of himself never before seen to members in the pages of the International Teamster. “This is a beautiful, old-fashioned Italian city. The inhabitants make you feel at home and everyone in the hotel is quite courteous and very friendly. Today we visited the home of Dante, many galleries and several old churches. After driving through the city and parkways and doing a little shopping, we left next day for Venice.” In rare fashion, he gives a personal account – fun and light of his journey – telling members of the art and history and, in his third article, spending three pages of travel diary before writing about his reasons for the trip.

Typically reserved, sticking to the issues at hand, Tobin writes lightheartedly, giving the membership a first glimpse into his personality with fun tidbits of his explorations in Italy, France, Switzerland and England. It isn’t until the third installment that readers are reminded of his reason for traveling to Europe again as he heads to Geneva: “The hope of everyone who serves the League of Nations was that some day, somehow, the US would join hands with the other countries in Europe in a court or tribunal which would have a tendency to help settle disputes between nations in an endeavor to prevent future wars,, and let me repeat right here, that men of every character in Europe with whom I came in contact despise and hate war and are anxious to find a way to prevent war in the future.”