The Daily Ardmoreite. [volume] (Ardmore, Okla.) 1893-current, 1920-11-07

peal TO and urge the ex-service men,
as citizens. TO take an active intelli-
gent interest in the political affairs
OF their country and the component
parts thereof and to investigate the
record of all candidates for public
office to ascertain whether or not
they measure up to the proper
standards of Americanism, patriotism
and good government. These are
merely things which should be urged
upon all citizens and which all citi-
zens should, as patriotic Americans,
do in order that every department
and branch of our government may
be the best it is possible to attain.
In the second instance, the last
paragraph Of the resolutions, the ma
jor parties are merely asked, on a
non-partisan basis, to accord ex-serv-
ice men adequate recognition which
merely means that this large group of
our citizenship should have their pro-
portionate recognition and voice in
the direction and policies of our gov
ernment. This is nothing more than
any such large group would be entit-
led to. This is no deviation from
the American Legion's non-political
and non-partisan attitude.
The American Legion constitution
states that no candidate for or in
cumbent Of a salaried elective pub
lie office shall hold any office in the
American Legion or in any depart
ment or post thereof. would go
even further than that. / do not
believe that any officer of the Am
erican Legion or Of any department
or post thereof should take any act
i've part whatsoever in any partisan
political campaign. No such officer
should act as political campaign
manager, make public speeches for
the candidate or candidates of any
party, take an active part in partisan
political meetings nor publicly cam
paign actively for any partisan poll
teal candidate. These officers should
OF course, exercise their rights as
citizens and perform them; but hold
ing, as they do, office in a non-poi-
teal and non-partisan organization /
believe it best for them to exercise
careful judgment in any public poll
tical activity on their part so as to
prevent any possible criticism of their
actions by members of the organiza-
ton whose officer they are and thus
shut off the possibility of any disrupt
ing element arising. This is the at
titude which l shall always assume
while holding any office in the Am
erican Legion and j would earnestly
urge every officer Of the Oklahoma
department of every post thereof to
do the same.
Do these things mean that the le-
gion will ignore all issues which have
an element of politics in them? They
do not and the question is now being
asked as to how the legion will ac-
complish its mission of service to
comrades and country and still live
up in every manner to the spirit Of
its constitution.
It is generally known that previ-
GUS to the last national convention
certain legion posts in Georgia OPP
posed the nomination Of Tom Watson
to the United States senate on the
ground that he was opposed to legion
principles and that certain posts in
Oklahoma opposed the nomination Of
Senator Gore because Of his war
record. The question now arises as
to what the action Of the nation con-
vention means relative to these cases.
It simply means, according to our ma
tional commander, that these cases
should not be used as precedents for