The daily Gate City and constitution-Democrat. (Keokuk, Iowa) 1916-1922, 1920-05-12
This Will be One Campaign That VIII
Have Some New Features and
Should Interest Every
one.
ONLY FEW ARE ELIGIBLE
keokuk Post Will Try to Double It's
Membership so Buddy be Ready
When You're Asked 70
Come In.

The American Legion will hold a
campaign Tor new members the week
of Nav 1922 that will be different
The great American public, Whlch
has been the "driyee" in so many III
tensiye efforts of the last several
wears. has cultivated fine taste IN
campaigns. 1t has come TO be able
10 SPOT good drive from one that
Is poorIy handled. II can distinguish
points OF variety in q campaign j.
has become a connoisseur ID appeal
The uublic. then. will be quick to
recognize the essential difference OF
this American Legion effort
In the first place, it is not
..arivs, but a push Back in the
dim DAYS OF the early war puoncily
aYnarts borrowed the word drive"
from the slang of the day. Everyone
who went out after something zen
into the easy habit OF calling his cam
paign a drive" Then, when II Came
time for the men who really knew
what a war drive was 10 90 Out
after new members for their legion,
they found that the word drive was
as punchIsss as blank caflrlose.
They had to dig themselves up ne"
word. So they called their cam9aign
push" which is great deal ilAe
drive" except that 1t goes farlner
in implying relentless effort anu re-
sistless force
a feature that the great general
public should be quick TO reanze Is
that they, members OF the pubic
will not be called on TO contribute
ANYTHING except good will PosltlVelg
no money contributions VIII be e1
pectsd or received from them Inc!
will be expected TO exhibit their
friendship. but not their checkbooks.
Only Few Are Eligible.
Only some three million men are
elipibje 10 take active benefit OF the
legion campaign The organization
now has enrolled more than million
and half former service men and
women. leaving some three million
who can belong but who do not
The push" then, is aimed directly
at this minority. All of the combined
efforts of the million and haf OF
their fellows will be devoted to bring
ing the absent into the fold Which
means that every legionnaire Will
have TO take ON and convince two
comrades.
Only about one man in twenty Is
eligible to Join the legion. 1t is per
fectly safe 10 say that hundreds OF
thousands Of loyal Americans Would
give a good deal if they were eligible,
by reason of active army, navy or
marine corps service, to come into
the legion. But they cannot and II
is only the three million who are
privileged to take advantage OF the
push"
But the legion hos no intention OF
passing up the general public simply
because il is not asking anything
from the public. The legion heenIY
desires TO interest every American IN
its push" because it believes it IS
TO every Americans interest TO be
interested. which is not as ambiguous
as it sounds.
While only one American in TWEEN
ty may be privileged to come into
the legion, every American must sup
por1, in his heart, the legion plat
form. For God and Country" Lead
ers in every field of American life
have gladly and spontaneously in
dorsed the legion's aspirations. II Is
widely recognized, although less than
fifteen months old. as the greatest
force for the established order in
these United States.
That the general public feels that
this is true is shown by the way
prominent citizens have come for
ward to lend their aid. General Per
shing has endorsed the campaign and
urged eligible army men to join the
legion. Northumberland Robert
Lee Billiard. commanding the de-
partment of the east, has included
the same recognition in general or
ders.
Citizens Can Aid.
Various welfare and civic organiza-
tons have endorsed the push and
have volunteered to lend speakers
and equipment to help make it a
success. So the general public shows
that it refuses to stay out II a citi-
zen cannot come in himself he in
tends to do his part to see that the
eligible men do come in.
The legion intends making special
efforts to capture those men-and
there are hundreds of thousands OF
them-who have every facility for
joining a post. but who are the vic
tins of inertia. These men-anC
women--know they are eligible tc
become DICTIONARIES; they approve
the legion's principles: they have al
ways Intended coming in, but they
have simply put off doing so for tht
same reason of inertia that keeps
men from taking out enough insur
ancc or making their wills.
They belong in, and they know II
The legion plans to get them b,
backing them into a figurative cor
ner, flashing an application blank il
their faces and painlessly extractin
their names and dollars.
Efforts also will be made to ge
army, navy and marine corps me-
who are eligible. Posts located n.aa
camps are expected to actively go on
after these fellows. Another specia
.ortie will be made against colleg
ms, especially members OF faculties