, 1922-07-25
Under DELIVERS INSPIRING Ms! !n',G ADDRESS MONDAY
TONYOMNG LEGION HOST IN TORRNGTON MEET
Commune irOm Pase onel

afcd bv the whole American Legion.
1 wish that I were better able to tell
YOU about Il. but az most Of you
know, my ability as a speechmaker
is to say tho least. very limited. You
remember when the American Legion
had as IT'S guest Ferdinand Foch. the
Marshal OF France. and We were talk
ing him upon that great tour OF the
United States. We ned come from the
east along the northern tier OF states
and went on to thc coast-down along
Il. following the Mexican border TO
Texas and then up through the south
and Into the east again. It fell my lot
during that trip TO introduce tho m a
shall whenever he spoke, sometimes as
many as fifteen or twenty times a day.
and because we were always IN n diff
ferent place. I always said the same
thing. I said IL SO often that three
French offers on the smarshal's staff
who had come to the country without
. sSxis word Of English at their COM
land. the moment I was introduced
used to stand up on the platform be-
hind me and start TO say my little
piece for me. and I used to have to
rush to the front of the platform and
" Al ahCNAA tAIlA oA- oaA a. 1S-
tinued just the same until we got to
Portland where because either Of n
very Observation-Disclosures or because
there were SO many people there to
xroet the marshal. I became more or
less fiustered and inadvertently
changed n word on so and introduced
ms new phrase. The good old mar
shall used to sit and doze in his chair
peaceably until I got through when
no would wake up automatically and
march to tho front of h platform and
mako his talk But this time he start
ed to cdget around in his chair and
suddenly woke up with an awful start
and had to DO pulled dow in his seat
again Tho moment It was over, his
~psrsonaI physician rushed UP TO me
and'said. ~Look.here. II you must say
the. same thing every time. all right.
butsyou must say It word for word.
rhsmarshal is n verytoid mar and he
can4 stand shocks like that" And
observation-disclosures for word until I
was very proudeof It indeed.
I'VE arrived on the latter part Of
shos trip In the little town OF Monroe.
8. O., where eight or ten of us spoke
from the same platform out into a
reatsssa of faces. lighted by myriads
Of hastily constructed lights. It m
really an inspiring sight these thousr
ands or people who had come to hon
or and sec the marshal. and we all did
our very best. The moment It was
over a very tall distinguished elderly
southern gentleman in a very tall silk
hat, the chairman of the local recep-
3D.. .o--t+%an r,,-bad ,sn IN fbA ptaf.
form. grlspcd the marshal by the hand
and said. Marshal OF course the mar
shall couldn't understand because he
doesn't speak English. but he said.
Marshal. whnt you have said tonight
here SIR. has written a bright page in
the history Of North Carolina sir And
they bobbed back and forth and were
very happy about It. He got hold Of
tho next mans hand. He said. Sir
words yu1 have said hare tonight. are
in my heart, 1 shall carry
them with mo to my grave And they
bobbed back and forth and they were
very happy. too. And then the old
gentleman reached along and got hold
of my hand looked up and saw who It
was. He started bravely enough-he
said. SIR and thon he hesitated. Sir
er>er-you have n remarkable speak
ing voice, SIR All Of which + am
describes my ability to tell you
whatzT would like to tell you.here to-
day.
But I wssh You and every other
could have had the oppor-
tunffy which those of US who accom-
panied the marshal and to sec this le-
Rfon OF ours as It really Is. Every
quarter of an hou every day for
nearly eight weeks that legion train
was passdng through some hamlet,
or city. and at every n Of
them, even, though It was only to catch
the marshal.s salute as the train o
through tho station-t every one
them-there stood the Legion. splen-
did young manhood. standing there
With their oolors-your colors-holding
together to continue their service to
their county in peace as well as IN
war. It wss.an inspiration to all OF
but to none SO much as to h
marshal. When we said good-bye>to
ON his boatsdown IN New York. he
said: America does not realize what
II has IN this American Legion. 1
don't believe you realize It yourselves.
but let ms tell you this, and I make
IT as q prophecy. hat in the American
Legion IS tho cradle for the whole fu-
ture OF America And I cannot help
but believe he was right.
Tn eleven thousand posts IN every
corner Of this country there are over
million men who served with the
colors In the world war who have new
broken ranks-who are still stick
ing together pledged to uphold and
protect the constitution Of the United
States Of America. the lawful integrity
our government. They stand there
as the best possible insurance to pos
terity that America shall remain Be-
You know OF the tremendous
influence ot the veteran organizations
which followed the civil war. In the
northern half of the United States the
Grand Army of the Republic was the
most dominant force through the whole
half.century which followed their serv-
ice Yet do you know that ten years
after the. civil war the Grand Army OF
the Republic only had 10000 mem
bers. And here we are IN this Legion
Of OURS three years after our war with
a million. You a e h pcssi-
ia