The Brattleboro daily reformer. (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1913-1955, 1919-08-09
Wrote an Article Supporting
it for the American
Ii Legion Weekly
ORGANIZATION MUST
BE NON-PARTISAN

First-Has a Clean History-Will
Act as Bulwark Against Anarchy |
In This Country
NEW YORK, Aug. 9.-'.Why II
Back the LEGION is the title of an
article contributed to the current Am
erican Legion Weekly by Lieut.-Col.
Theodore Roosevelt President Roose-
welt s eldest son was one of those who
took an active part in the organization
of the legion when it was first con-
ccived by a number of American off
GERS and soldiers in France, and he was
i active in launching the society in this
country He declined the national
Craftsmanship at the legion convention
held at st. Louis in May, in spite of
the fact that he was the unanimous
choice of the delegates for the office
In the current Weekly, he says:
s'The American legion is the spon-
taneous growth of the sentiments of
the service men; its creed represents
the thought of ALL it is essentially a
civilian organizations; it is concerned
primarily with the welfare of the Unit
ed States and individual members.
: Among the thousands who aided in the
early stages of its organization, there
was absolute accord in the following
principles:
First, the organization should be
non partisan, concerning itself possibly
| ttrrf oil h,,t IL
politics. Second, its membership should
be composed of service men and women,
/, regardless of whether they served over
seas or were unfortunate enough to
have their duty keep them in this coun-
try. Third, it should be really civil
ian and in its councils, general and
4 private, admiral and COB would be
treated on the same basis.
Through all of its actions the doc
< trine of Americanism stands foremost
1 BY it the impulses for patriotism gen
o Grated in the great war will be crys-
K talized and preserved for the future
e good of the nation. Its fields of use,
d full activity are bounded only by the
desires of its members.
d There has been much talk about
l. the Bolsheviki, the /. w. W. and the
l. Red Flag Socialists. Many people have
1t expressed fears concerning the atti
la tude of our army to these mcnaces
IS There is no need for such fear. The
$ strongest bulwark this country car
l. have against lawless anarchy is thi
s. society composed of service men, TIL,
t. service man, having given up himsel
t. to the country, intends to see that thi
country which he loves comes to N
harm.
X cit has been the policy of the Am
.. erican legion, wherever l have come il
contact with it, to play the game wit
all the cards on the table. The servie
= man will not tolerate any other forr
of organization. He wishes, at a.
h times, to be able not only to tell an
1 one what he is doing, but equally to b
able to find out anything that the OIL
ganization, through some other brancl
may be doing.
"To any one who knows the Amer
can service man this is absolutely no.
NAL. He is square and will not assc
ciate himself with an organization III
less it is square.
'The reason / urge all service me
not only to join but to take an acti,
part in the affairs of this organic;
ton is that through it they can e,
/
find the men who have done the san
trick that they have done and wit
whose ideas they are thoroughly
sympathy. They can make the organ
zation what they wish, and 1 have
fear for anything that the organic
ton may do so long as they take
active interest in it.
$50 far, / have spoken mainly
how the service man can use the organ
zation for the benefit of this countr
OF course, this benefits him, but the
are other more practical methods
helping the service men which the
ganiZation is using, or may urge If
members so desire. At this time, the
is established a unemployment bure;
= In addition, there is the war risk
surance department for handling gu
tions of allotments, insurance, etc.
many of the communities clubhou
are established which will form |
meeting places where the thought
the community is interchanged and
opinions crystalized 800
"In addition to these activities VIII
have been organized already, it
- within the power of the legion to
- stitute a system of benefits forsold a
disability, etc, and a legal DEPARTING
whereby the best legal advice n
be available. There would be men
undertake such work as detailed abo
not from the point of view of the hi
employee serving his employers,
rather from the point of view of
comrade helping another comrade.
"The history of the actions of
American legion is as clean as
hounds tooth. For all thes stateme
| have made above there is a guar
tee in the actions of the caucuses c,
posed of men drawn from every st
in the unicn, of every creed and r;
of every walk in life that you find
the country. In no uncertain terms
st. Louis convention registered it.
on the Bolsheviki; in the confession
faith adopted at the Paris caucus
same princinles are SET forth