Ladysmith news-budget. [volume] (Ladysmith, Rusk County, Wis.) 1907-1927, 1920-10-08
AMERICAN LEGION POSTS
RALLYING POINT OF LOYAL
SENTIMENT AND AMERICANISM
Gabraith Jr New National Commander of American
Legion Writes Exclusive Interview for News Budget
On What Organization Means for the Nation
and Our Boys

Cleveland, Ohio. Oct. 6-I have been
asked particularly to speak. on the Am
eriCln Legion organization i'll the
smaller towns and the rural commune
ties. Nowhere is the legion stronger
than in such places. The local legion
is fast becoming the dominant factor
in the life of the smaller communities.
1t is a social center 1t is public
forum where the principal issues of the
day are discussed and threshed out.
1t is the rallying point of loyal senti-
ment And it is the aim Of the new
officers. as it was with the retiring
executives to make it more so by alb
sOlute cooperation.
Ex-seryice men in the rural com
munitieS too seem to have discovered
there are practical advantages to
legion membership. and it is our wish
that all of them see it so.
How National Headquarters Helps
Rural Town Posts
The legion members i'll the smaller
communities have been first to find out
the service the legion extends to it's
members through its service division
at the national headquarters, where
claims Of all varieties are adjusted.
In the year just gone by the legion OBJ
tanned the settlement of claims i'll
favor of eX-service men tOtaling more
than $1,000. 900 in caSh-and the ma
iority of these claims originated in
rural committees OF course, | shall
help keep up such good work and eX-
tend such service whenever and Wher-
ever possible.
The legion, when it puts its com
pensatiOn bill before Congress, saw to
it that a land settlement clause was
contained therein 1t saw to it that
provision was made whereby an eX-
service man living on a farm could
borrow money from his government on
easy terms for the Improvement OF
farms. | saw to it that the man in the
small town had the privilege OF put
ting his money in a home.
Our Answer to Those Who Said 1t
Couldn't Be Done
7 remember. in the early days Of the
legion. when a great universal organ
ization of those who served our colln-
try in war war an idea rather than
fact: there were many who said II
could never be done Why? we asked.
We'll. they told us. how will you ever
get the North and South, estranged as
those sections are on political issues,
together? How will you get the cap
italist and the labOrer. the farmer and
tbe CITY man, the Socialist, the Repub-
Ican and the Democrat, the Catholic
and the Protestant will you ever
get them all to agree on anything!
1t was pointed. out that we were all
together i'm the war When America
was fighting abroad and working at
home in 1917 and 1918 there was no
internal diSsensiOn nor petty disagree
mentS
"Ah. we'll" said the dOubters, but
then we were at war. y declaration OF
war ends discussions. The flame OF pa
triotism that war kindles purgeS the
soul and casts out narr0WneSs. The
war is over. The fire is out. Your
, aim is commendable but impossible
There Is Not, Nor Will There Be
Political Lines
But the men and women who CON
ceived the legion idea believed that IL
peace as well as in war could he perpet
mated the fine ideals for which we
fought and which made America {
nation of Americans in 1917.
The American legion as it stands
today is proof that the vision OF these
men and women was prophetic.
The legion of today girds the Worl'
$500 posts, 100000 members, in ev
cry city and town, every village an'
community in the land and in ou
island and overseas possessions and il
ten foreign countries.
There is nothing like the legion L
the world.
IT is not national. not sectional. Me
and factions. absolutely irreconcilaDi
on no other grounds. stand together an
work together in the legion, all for tn
achievement of the same ideals.
question of creed, political utilization