The Cordova daily times., 1920-06-24

The men who gathered at that event full meeting did many important things, including the selection of a home for the new patriotic organization. They called it the American Legion, and under that name it will go down in the patriotic history of the United States.
 The caucus also named a committee of fifteen to work in the United States and to plan for national meeting within a year, This committee came home and a caucus was arranged for at St. Louis May 8.
 The St. Louis meeting was a revela- tion. There several hundred men who had served their country at home and abroad met and, forgetting both creed and politics, worked to inject the prin- ciples of Americanism in one great movement the American Legion. At this meeting a joint executive com mittee was formed by men of 34 states with units in the Legion. This com mittee formulated a basis for perlna- nent organization and agreed that a constitutional convention of the Le- zion would be held in Minneapolis in November. An organization commit tee of five was appointed to complete plans for the Minneapolis meeting
 This committee was composed of Henry D. Lindsey of Texas, Bennett c. Clark of Missouri, Franklin D'Olier of Pennsylvania, Dr. Richard Derby of New York and Eric Fisher Wood of Pennsylvania. Mir. LindSley was chosen chairman of the committee and because of that service and his sub sequent work as chairman of the Min- neapOlfs convention, the title of first commander of the American Legion was conferred on him. MT. Wood was named the secretary. One important step taken at the St. Louis meeting was that of asking the congress of the United States for a charter This request was intrusted to Luke Lea and Thomas W. Miller. The measure was introduced in both houses June 27, last year. 1t passed the house of representatives August 27 and the sen- ate September g. President Wilson signed the charter September 16, com- pleting the work of granting 9 charter, the first ever granted to an organiza- tiOn of the nature of the American Legion. The legislative committee of the Legion also placed before the con- gress many other important legisla- tive matters, including bills covering land grants for former service men, bills dealing with the question of the deportation of alien slackers and other matters of interest to men of the Le- zion.
 Important steps taken at the St. Louis meeting provided for the open ing of national headquarters in New York and for the publication of a weekly periodical that would be of in- terest to former service men. Plans also were made to have three we'll known men of the legion visit different parts of the country to further the in- terests of the new organization. The men chosen were Theodore Roosevelt, IT,, John P. J. Herbert and John W. Inzer. These made tours of the coun- try to advance the organization of local posts When the American Le- zion met in Minneapolis the member. ship had passed the 750,OO0 mark, and it was predicted that the million mark would be reached in a few months. There now are more than 5000 Amer. fcan Legion posts in the United States, Alaska, Cuba and Hawaii.
 Franklin D'Olier of Pennsylvania is the new commander of the American Legion. He, with other new officers of the Legion have opened headquar- ters offices of the Legion in Indian apolis. And Indianapolis and Indiana, feeling joint pride in the honor paid the state by the American Legion, well comes them. When they came they heard that Indianapolis was preparing to erect a memorial to her fighting sons that will serve not only as home for the American Legion, but for other patriotic bodies, including the veterans of the Grand Army of the Republic and the Spanish-American war.