The Winslow mail., 1922-03-31
cational and Americanization meas

| ureS.
Following the establishment of the
American Legion there We're persons
Of un-American tendencies. and 9TH
ers misinformed heard to say that
Wall Street was sponsoring and fin
ancing the Legion and that it's con-
duct in industrial controversies
would be one of partisanship toward
| the employers. AS one associated
with the Legion from it's inception
and preliminary meetings in Paris
in 1919, and during all this period
an active official of an international
trade union, the declaration that the
| financial interests of the country
were backing the Legion was given
no consideration by me because of
the utter fallacy of any such declar-
! alton.
It has taken time, however. to
prove the Righteousness of the
claim, it being best exemplitied by
! the national unity of the banking
| interests and the Chamber of Com
merce against the American lie
gions adjusted compensation legis-
lation. It should be said here that
| the real opponents of the American
Legion in this great aud meritorlous
| issue have been the Chamber of
Commerce and the banking interests
| of America, and that the strongest
! force of cooperation with the Amer
ican Legion in pressing the final
adoption of its compensation meas
ues has been the uncOmpomislng
support of the American Federation
of Labor.
Thus time has proved the utter
preposterousness of the claim that
outside interests and particularly
| the monied interests of America
controlled the destinies and the as,
piratiolss of the American Legion.
| The fact that no outside influence,
without regard to class, creed or in
| fuence, runs the American Legion.
1t is a militant. fighting. viri'e, indie
| pendent, non-partisan orgaization,
run from within and resenting med
| ding influences from without.
| The American Legion, in addition
| to it's efforts to maintain the contact
of comradeship that grew out of the
| world conflict, has adopted pro-
gram of Americanization that pro-
poses an unceasing campaign to ell
| inmate from our republic every ev-
| idence of illiteracy and to cooperate
with every educational, religious
economic and public spirited organ
ization that is willing to make this
great fight in the interest of intel
| lectuality
| In addition, the American Legion
| has said that it proposes to press
| home to every man, woman and
child, the principles of Americanism
| to perpetuate the traditions of our
republic, and to build up spirit of
| loyalty and love for the ideals which
the republic has stood for and fought
for at home and abroad This is in
brief the policy and purpo.e of the
American Legion and it is actuated
+! by no other ambition To such a.
program every good citizen and Or
ganlzation can, without hesitandy
! subscribe and particularly is this
true of the American Federation of
Labor which has subscribed to an
idNtical program The purpose.
therefore, in this constructive, far
sighted program makes to that ex-
tent the American Legion and the
American Federation of Labor I'm
! Seperable
| 1t is obviously true that there is
line of demarcation between inter-
national unions, and the American
! Legion in that the former concen-
trates largely in economic develop-
ments. The American Legion is not
an economic organization but purely
fraternal and legislative organiza-
ton with it's objectives the things
that have already been referred to-.
However, so far as the economic
struggles of International labor un-
ions are concerned, the American