The Washburn leader. [volume] (Washburn, McLean County, N.D.) 1890-1986, 1919-07-11
The American
Legion As An
!. Organization
"SoMEVlEWS ON THE AMERICAN
LEGtON-STATE AND
Hs>- NATIONAL

= A National convention of Ameri-
Mean soldiers and sailors in which no
: grievances were aired, no political AK
es ground, no special privileges or pre-
ferments demanded; where oratoricai
-'bunk" was hoted down. where Soc
iYhl discrimination was taboo and mill
tary rank counted not at all; where
the past glories of war were subordi-
mated to the future glories Of peace,
and where the national interests was
placed above all partisanshi p-that
is something new under the sun. It
was in such a convention, held in St..
Louis during the second week of May,
that the new spiritof the American
army and navy expressed itself artic-
ulately for the first time since the
armistice was signed. The birth of
the American Legion was attended by
circumstances having significance
comparable with those surrounding
the signing of a certain document
in Philadelphia one hundred and forty
three years ago come July 4th.
A brigadier general arises to place
in nomination the name Of man
who" and is cried down by dough-
boys with calls of "Namehim! Who
is he?" A proposal to give extra pay
to enlisted men is unanimously de-
feated because, as Lieutenant Colonel
Roosevelt put it, "we are not here to
sandbag something out of the Govern
ment, but to put something into 1t.
The invitation to make Chicago the
next meeting place of the legion is re-
fused because "American soldiers ana
sailors don't want to go to city
whose mayor would be ashamed to
welcome such a convention A Pro-
gressive Republican, son of famous
father, refuses the craftsmanship to
quiet suspicion Of personal ambition
and the office goes to Southern DEM
crat -of whose party the gathering, is
in comp1efg ignorance. =
Fl One of the convention stenogra-
Merssaid: "This is the funniest con-
:. vention I have ever attended, we
have an idea that there was an ele-
i ,Anert of prophecy in her homely re-
f1ark-a body representing more than
foGf million American soldiers and
sailors that makes so little political
noise is likely to be about as funny to
the conventionally-m minded politician as
bombardment of gas Shells rms
LANGUAGE of restraint in the mouths OF
organized civilian youth may prove to
be a natural companion to the famous
battle slogan of the A. E. F.: Lets
go!"-Colliers Weekly.
Enrolment Of Fargo veterans of the
Great War in the G. C. Grafton Post of
the American Legion should be 100
per cent.
It was most fitting tribute to one
of the best loved officers in the North
Dakta forces to name the Fargo psf IN
his honor. Had Lieut. Col. Grafton
Grafton lived, he undoubtedly would
have been an active worker in the
American Legion, for it is the type OF
organization that would have appealed
to him. The legion is organized not
for the purpose of trying to get all 1t
can for it's members from Uncle Sam,
but for the purpose of giving all it. can
to the country, in the way of service.
aE.The American Legion is nonpolit-
sFIical and the only organization of veter-
ans of the Great War that has any ma
:tional standing. All persons are eligi-
bile who were in the military or naval
service of the United States between
pril 6, 1917, and November II, 1918,
and Fargo veterans should associate
themselves with the Legion at the
earliest possible moment, and plan
to remain active members in it as
6ng as they live, unles it's stand
ards and policies change materially
from what they: now are