Evening star., 1921-04-10
VETERANS OF GREAT WAR
Column Devoted to the Interests of the Men Who
Defended the Nation on Land and Sea-

The necessity Of a service bureau
/! of the American Legion was empha-
sized strongly within the past few
! days, when several hundred claims
| for assistance from the government
were filed by veterans of the world
war with Albert f. Ham, the newly
appointed national service director.
Offices were opened at 1923 1 street
northwest Wednesday morning, and
| 1000 claims were received by the
director and his assistants. The i'm
portance of the new bureau was
further recognized at a largely at
tended meeting of representatives Of
| the various civic and welfare organi-
cations in the District Friday night
at the District building. when the
! national service bureau was designat-
ed as the clearing house for all dis
! tressed and stranded veterans who
| come to Washington with view to
| forcing their claims.
! After observing the work of Albert
E. Ham. a charter member of George
! Washington Post, No. l, of the Dis
/ trict of Columbia department. who,
| for the past year. has been field
| in the state of Michigan. National
Commander F. w. Galbraith selected
| him as the new national director in
| this city. His familiarity and service
within the war risk bureau during
| the past two years will be of material
f; assistance to veterans who desire
Information and action on their claims
| for compensation. He is also familiar
with the procedure in other govern
! ment departments and is considered
! one of the most capable men for the
| position.
| AS an instance of the work of the
| new director the fact that he insisted
On dozen hospitals being closed in
! the state which he found unsuitable
for sick and disabled men. impressed
interest in the welfare of those who
| fought in the world war. The insani-
| tary conditions attracted his atten-
| tion and he secured the backing of
the proper authorities, and the result
| was that the men were removed to
! more up-to-date institutions and the
old structures closed. He was severely
wounded on the western front and
| his long experience in hospitals in
| France and this country while re-
| covering from his wounds peculiarly
! fits him for his new position. He is al
I ready securing the Endorsement of
| numerous large organizations who
have known of his ability and knowl-
edge in this line. and recognize in
him the proper official to handle the
| VI HSU '" no nave not received
J the prompt action they were entitled
| to. The work of the new bureau will
not be limited to looking after claims
OF the veteran, but will follow up re-
quests for victory medals. locating of
graves for relatives, arrangement for
vocational training or any other re-
quests which may come to the atten-
, tion of the director or his assistants
I from those entitled to 1t. He has Sc
| cured several capable assistants who
formerly were employed in the war
risk bureau and other government de-
partments, so that the veterans may
expect to secure prompt action from
experienced persons familiar with
! government routine.
The meeting of the various welfare
organizations of the District at the Dis
| trict building Friday night showed the
necessity of caring for veterans who
| journey to the National Capital to seek
assistance from the government While
here many of them have become strand
ed waiting for action on their cases,
with the result that it has been neces-
sary to secure funds to send them home
Several of the organizations have as
sisted in this work, and iI order to have
more centralized method the American
| Legion national service bureau was Sc
lected as the logical place A special
committee to look after the relief of the
veterans was appointed recently by
Department Commander James A.
Drain, with Instructions to arrange a
definite plan and take action. This COM
mittee consisted of Paul +. Twyman,
| commander. Henry c. Spengler Post,
| chairman; Howard S. Fisk. commander,
| George Washington Post; William F.
Franklin, commander, Vincent b. Cos
tello Post: William Wolff Smith, Com
! mander, National Press Club Post
| Earl H: Smith. department historian.
| and ]. p. Kohen. sergeant-at-arm de-
partment executive committee
| President Harding and Marshal
| Foch of France may be in attend
ance at the national convention of
! the American Legion at Kansas City.
, Mo-, next October, according to word
] received here from that city.
To Hold Ladies' Night,
The meeting of George Washington
| Post. No. 1, the American Legion,
scheduled for Tuesday, April 10. will
be ladies' night. being the first affair
of its kind held by the post. The
event will take place at Com
munity Service Hall, 91S 10th
street northwest The program
of the evening includes a prom
inent speaker from Congress. A
play, entitled THE Old Guard" is to
| be presented. concluding with dane
ing until midnight. The play will be
supervision of Charles B. Hanford,
the well known Shakespearean actor.
who served in the Navy during the
world war. and is chairman of the
| entertainment committee of the post.
| A feature Of the meeting last Tues
| day was an addrss by Albert T. Ham,
| the newly appointed national service
director of the American Legion, who
| outlined the work OF the national
| service division. with Offices at 1928