The Glenwood post., 1920-05-15
A1ERIcAN LEGION MsM-
BERSHIP CAMPAIGN

The American Legion will hold
campaign for new members the week
of May 1922 ''that will be different u
The great American public, which
has been the "drivee" in 80 many in
tensive efforts of the last several years
cultivated fine taste in campaigns. 1t
has come to be able to spot a good
drive from one that is poorly handled.
1t can distinguish points of variety in
campaign. 1t has become connois-
seur in appeal.
The public, then, will be quick to
recognize the essential difference OF
this American Legion effort.
In the first place, it is not drive.
but push Back in the dim days of
the early war publicity experts bor-
rowed the word drive from the slang
of the day. Everyone who went out
after something fell into the easy hab-
it of calling his campaign drive
| Then, when it came time for the men
who really knew what war drive
was to go out after new members for
their legion, they found that the word
drive was as punchless as blank
cartridge. They had to dig themselves
up new word. So they called their
campaign push; which is great
deal like drive except that it goes
farther in implying relentless effort
and resistess force
A feature that the great general
public should be quick to realize is
that they; members of the public, will
not be called on to contribute any
thing except good will. Positively no
money contributions will be expected
or received from them. They will be
expected to exhibit their friendship,
but not their checkbooks
Only some three million men are
eligible to 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 half 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 to say that hundreds of
thousands of loyal Americans would
give good deal if they were eligible
by reason of active army, navy or mar
inc corps service, to come into the
legion. But they cannot, and it is
only the three million who are prvil- |
eyed to take advantage Of the push
But the legion has no intention of |
passing up the general public, simply |
because it is not asking anything from
the public. The legion keenly desires
to interest every Amemican in its
push because it believes it is to every
American interest to be interested, |
which is not as ambiguous as it |
sounds.
While only one American in twenty
may be privileged to come into the
legion, every American must support,
in his heart, the legion's platform,
" For God and Country" Leaders in
every field of American life have gla.t-
ly and spontaneously Endorsed the leg
ions aspirations. 1t is widely recog-
nized, 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 prom
inent citizens have come forward to.
lend their aid. General Pershing has
endorsed the campaign and urged elig-
ible army men to Join the legion.
Lieut.. Gen. Robert Lee Billiard, com.
handing the department of the east
has included the same recognition in
general orders.
Various welfare and civic organza-
tons have endorsed the push ani
have volunteered to lend speakers and
equipment to help make it success.
So the general public shows that it re-
fuses to stay out. If citizen cannot
come in himself he intends 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