Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1920-05-14
MAINTAIN FAITH
IN j. S. PRINCIPLES,
WOMEN ARE URGED
Col. Henry C. Breckenridge
Addresses Opening Session
of Legion Convention.

1 will maintain an abiding faith in the
fundamental institutions of their
country and the principles underly-
i ing her present greatness. was the
message delivered by Col Henry c.
| breckenridge, former assistant SeC"c-
tary of war, speaking yesterday aft
ernoon at the first session of the first
annual convention of the legion, held
at the marine barracks.
! The great problem in your new
| field of political activity" Col Breck-
J inridge told the 107 delegates, repre-
senting Twenty-Five different units.
and the many other members present
as observers. lis the defense of those
! principles against the alien voices of
discomfort and defiance"
The tWo-day convention was called
for two purposes, Mrs. William Corco-
ran Eustls, retiring president, an
nounced on calling the gathering to
order. The first is to put it's house in
order -firmly establish itself as a
coherent whole and choose perma-
n"nl constitution and officers. The
second is to prove by its record of
the past twelve months and its com
prehensive plans for the future that
| It's existence as d patriotic and Serv-
! lceable organization is justified. The
| first days proceedings We're largely
lnSpratlonal and occupied with ad-
dresses dealing with activities likely
! to be pursued by the legion. There
were also sessions of the committees
on resolutions, constitutions and NOM
nations. These bodies are to report
at today's meeting, scheduled for 4
o'clock. which will be almost entire
;ly business session.
Mrs. Roosevelt Elected Chairman.
Rev. DIR. Roland Cotton Smith, rector
of st. Johns Episcopal Church. gave the
| invocation, asking divine aid in preserv-
ing in these perilous times of. peace
! the spirit of sacrifice made so apparent
during the war. A section of the Marine
! Band played America" and THE Star
Spangled Banner" Mrs. Franklin D.
Roosevelt was the unanimous choice of
the convention as it's permanent chair
man, and took over the reins after Mrs
! l.ustis had outlined the purposes of the
meeting and some of the accomplish
ments Of the legion within the past year,
announcing at the same time her resg-
nation as president. ITO perpetuate the
spirit of comradeship, service and pa
| triotism that sprang up during hostili-
| ties was given as the keynote of the
convention, while some of the activities
| and plans briefly touched on were as fol-
/ lows:
Attendance of the funerals at Ar
+! lington of heroes brought from over
seas: assistance in decora ting soldier
graves on Memorial day and also as
| sistance to be given the Womens Re-
| lief Corps in providing refreshments
for troops on duty on that anniver
sary: the distribution of patriotic
literature to local high schools the
donation of prizes for competitive
essays offered by high school history
pupils; cooperation with the bureau
of war risk insurance in propaganda
izing the Importance of governmental
insurance; sympathetic constructive
aid for crippled veterans after they
shall have dnffa6 the olive n n
morale work at Mount Alto and Wal
ter Reed hospitals; plan for legion
magazine, and a Willingness on the
part of representatives of the legion
to serve with other organizations
having at heart the welfare of ex-
service men. Mrs. Eustis also made
a plea for a closer bond between the
! ex-service man and the present serv-
ice man. When she said. I'VE feel
that we all owe debt to the Regular
Army man that should never be for
gotten a burst of applause came
from all parts of the house.
Cites Aims Of War Risk Bureau.
Service" is the spirit Of the bureau
tof war risk insurance, according to
Col. r. H. Hallett Of that organiza-
ton. who represented Col. r. G.
| Cholmeley-Jones. it's director. The
bureau feels a two-fold sense of obli-
cation. he explained: First. efficiently
and quickly to care for the disabled
man, and, secondly. to educate the men
in the field as to the valuable oppor-
/ tunities available in this sort of in
| surance. He described as heart
rending" the cases of certain family
groups wherein the ex-service man
had allowed the insurance to lapse.
with consequent disallowance of
claims. You must help in teaching
the men who have it patience. and
you must help US put it across to
those who haven't it," he told the
| legion.
Myron Whitney, a member Of the
Boy Scout Council. asked the encour-
agement and backing of the legion
in the effort to reach the 95 per cent
of American boydom yet not enrolled
as scouts. laying particular emphasis
in the ever-increasing shortage of the
! scoutmasters. who shall lead these
youngsters as they are enlisted. A
recital Of the scout oath and the scout
law seemed, by the applause it clio
tied. to demonstrate that this organ
! ization stands for just the sort Of
thing the women's legion is out to
heightened by a f1rst-aid demonstra-
ton by the troop of scouts on duty
as ushers, under direction of Mr..
Drake. assistant scout executive.
Educational Phase Of Army.
Capt. D. P Lentz of the general
| staff, attached to the bureau Of edu-
! cation and recreation, told how the
| Army is planning to give it's men
! not only military instruction, but
! broad educational training as well.
| This addition has been decided on, he
| explained, for the men who either had
| no early opportunity for education
| or failed to take advantage of the
| chances they did have. The enlist
ment and subsequent education of
illiterates, he declared. is good busi-
ness for the Individual. who is i'm
proved: for the organization. which Is
otherwise desirable recruits, and for
the nation generally, which thus sees
an improvement along the line of
/ characterization among that very
portion Of it's citizenship which needs
it most.
Delegates and members were spe-
cially invited to attend the Army air
tournament and exhibition which
opened today at Boiling Field. Prom
inent before the speakers table yes
terday was a big basket Of Ameri-
can beauty roses. gift of Mrs. Reticer,
a gold star" mother of Oatlands, Va,
in honor of all the gold star moth
ers of the legion. Miss Margaret A.
Wilmer Unit, appeared in a garb of
the government cartridge silk made
up as design for distinctive first
aid uniform to be worn by legion
! mothers when on duty. A first laid
plank in the constitution is to be
offered this afternoon.
BILL DIRECTS SENDING