Connecticut western news., 1922-01-19
legion and nothing less."

Legion and nothing less"
 The statement issued by Treasurer
 Butterworth in the name of the 1 committee consisting of Judge
 Malone and Morgan G. BulEeley, jr.,
 and approved by the executive com mittee of the Connecticut legion, fol-
 lows in part:
 Some of the states were passing
 acts giving a bonus to soldiers and
 other states projected similar action,
 involving in every instance many
 millions of dollars.
 : The state of Connecticut, however, had passed two acts, including the
 one in which we are particularly in terested, which provided for a fund of two and one-half million dollars to be invested in government bonds, the interest upon which should be de- voted to soldiers, sailors and marines and be disbursed through an organi- zation of soldiers, sailors and marines which should be approved by the board of control. This interest, amounting to about $106,00O annu- ally, was to be used for the provision of food, clothing, medical aid, etc, and for care and relief. The wording of the act authorized a wide latitude of activities, but the funds involved, of coures, were very small and made quate as there were some 83,000 in service from Connecticut who would come under the act with whom it was at once evident that $1O6,OOO might go but a very short ways.
 When, therefore, in 1919 the board of control asked the American legion of this state if it would ad- minister this fund, it was at once plain that unless the fund were admins tered with most unusual frugality, there might be very little indeed for soldiers. The American legion would not shirk duty but had no financial resources and was not able to under take a responsibility which involved an uncertain financial obligation and so stated to the board of control. To 1 this the board of control replied that proper expenses of the administration of the fund were payable out of the fund, that they had absolute conf dence in us, that if we would formu- late bylaws as to the method of ad- which would meet their they were ready to have us go ahead. Then, we remembering the preamble of the American legion, of service to our country and our comrades, decided to accept the res possibility, conceive and present to the board of control plan by which the expenditures should be the possible because the work would be done by comrades of those in need. The plan presented was that each post in the state should form committee whose duty it would be to investigate, report and recommend in regard to each case, these reports to come to a central office where they would be analysed, passed upon, fur ther information secured, if neces- sary, and appropriate action taken then and thereafter. By this move the American legion of Connecticut placed itself at the service of the state and it's stricken comrades. The writer and his two associates, Judge William J. Malone, who had been the first adjutant of the American legion, Connecticut department, and Nor gan c. Bulkeley, jr., had been made . committee upon this matter by the tate executive committee of the American legion, and that committee approved the plan and the board of ontrol after examining it approved it and directed us to ''carry on."
 Work Done Free
 We started in a small way. Since ten, I had been the treas