The sun., 1919-10-11
AMERICAN LEGION
BEGINS CONVENTION
+. ID. Roosevelt Warns Vet
Grams Against Letting Poll
tics Get in Control.
600 POSTS REPRESENTED
Prohibition, Service Bonuses
and War on Slackers Are
Chief Topics.

Special Despdfch TO The Sun
ROCHESTER, Oct. 10.--Indications that
sessions Of the first State convention OF
the American Legion here might not De
entirely peaceful cropped out to-day In
the first meetings Of the delegates. rep
resenting more than 600 posts. Cues
tons as to politics and prohibition
Government bonus for veterans and de-
portation for alien siackers are to be
voted on tomorrow. and 1t Is expected
some lively debate will develop.
Election of officers and of delegates
to the national convention of the Legion
also will take place tomorrow. In the
preliminary diminishing incident to or
ganization work to-day. considerable
feeling was manifested between various
county delegations and the representa-
tives of the State organizations. Ogden
L. Mills Of New York, presiding as tenn
porary chairman, offered to step ASIDE
il the convention wished to place another
man in his post, but Che offer was not
accepted.
The delegates from various counties
have announced that any attempt on
roller" them will lead to immediate re-
| volt. The office of State chairman there
| fore is regarded as anything but
sinecure.
| Formal welcome to the delegates was
| extended in convention hall this fore
noon by Bernard ]. Haggerty, secretary
to Mayor Hiram H. Edgerton. who was
unable to be present.
Favors Universal Training.
Franklin d. Roosevelt, Assistant Sec
rotary Of the Navy, spoke this after
| noon. He said in part:
"Of course II Is well known that
| have always favored universal training
for the young men of the nation Quite
| aside from its military and naval value
it is bound to come. for the very simple
reason that it produces better citizens.
! 1t matters little whether you stress its
value because 1t gives better physical
bodies or because 1t does away with IL
| literacy, or because II Americanizes the
foreigners or because 1t eliminates sec
tionalism or narrow craftsmanship. These
and a hundred other reasons all point
in the same direction.
81 60 80 far as to say that any
system Of universal training should con-
Germ the navy as well as the army. The
two services should march hand in hand.
More than that, the two services must
in the future become far more intimately
connected with the general life Of the
nation than they have been in the past.
II hope that the american Legion will
enunciate clearly the principles OF such
an organization. Details of a definite
measure are more the concern Of Con-
gress, but If two or three million Amer
lean men will put themselves on record.
| urhn ha 60 hNi a
experience l believe the great principle
will prevail.
IF the Legion will leave politics alone
and also questions which are not in any
way connected with the Legion and con-
fine itself to the really great national
questions of defence, of better citizen.
ship. of Americanism. then and then
only will it as an organization become
a powerful factor for the good Of the
United States"
Employment Work Valuable.
Chairman Mills declared that the Lee
gion as an employment agency would
be of incalculable benefit to members
He urged that this phase of its activi
ties be emphasized in recruiting.
when finally organized. the Ameri
: can Legion should be the best employ
ment agency In the world" said Mr.
Mills. with a post in every commu
nifty and efficient State and Federal or
J ganizations linking them together, 4
/ should never be impossible to find tn,
, job for the man."
} AS another advantage of membership
} Mr.. Mills pointed out that in negoti
ating with the Government in regart
to war risk insurance or vocationa
. training the member Of the Legion viii
} be in a far better position to get hi
: rights than the individual. He said tina
in addition and apart from all materia
considerations, the sentimental value o
, membership to the former soldier will b,
great and will increase with each year
| In this connection, he referred to tn
. devotion of the veterans of the Civil
, War to the G. A. r.
| In describing the rapid growth OF tn,
State Legion the chairman said that Gil
posts have been chartered since Theo
dore Roosevelt Post No. 1 was formed
June 2. This post was made up Of dele
gates to the st. Louis caucus, at whicl
the national organization was formed.
-Four months ago" he said, "the New
York branch of the American Legion
possessed little beyond a national con
: stitution and a determination. Results
to date are wonderful testimony to tn
efficient organising ability Of the Amer
lean fighting man. Stepping suddenl,
from war time to peace time the sol
diers, sailors and marines of the Empir
State have brought into being a grea
organization"
, Nominations for Omcers.
Nominations this afternoon provoke,
|, mild encounters, the result being a
D follows:
For State chairman, Russell e. Sar
of Albany, Pierre Lorillard of Otseg
g and Hamilton Fish of Putnam; frs
Nice-chairman, Scott Button of Schenec
tady, Robert A. Greenfield of Noun
9 Vernon, Edward Ashe Of New York, F
4 II. Perkins of Syracuse, John B. Tue
5 of Syracuse and Harold d. Bodamer o
y Buffalo; second vice-chairman, Williar
Q +. Deegan of The Bronx, Arthur 7
Y Smith of Rochester and James F. Goerk
j OF Brooklyn; third vice-chairman, VIII
o lam CHAMPION OF New York. Fred I
Gallagher of Oswego, L C. Cochran Q
Austin, Harry Williams OF Westcheste
d and Anna B. Duncan OF New York
n There was no opposition to Wade H
= Hayes, the present State Secretary.
d nomination for treasurer was left to tn
:, nominations Committee. Harrison Dey
d OF Yonkers was mentioned for the otic,
8 For delegates at large to the nationa
4 convention of the Legion, these nom
G nations were made: Ogden L. Mil
d of New York, Louis d. Cleveland OF JET
d fcJsoA County, the Rev. Francis
N Kelv of Troy CornelIus w Wicker