The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1923-06-07
NATIONAL COMMANDER HERE

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local legion at Blackfoot on Tuesday
noon, and addressed more than a
hundred service men and other citi-
zens at a luncheon at the K. p.
: Hall. He is on tour of the North
west, and this unexpected opportun-
/. ity was arranged on Sunday by some
of the service men who went to
Pocatello for a conference with him
. and found that it was possible to
have him come thru by automobile
and make the stop of one hour in
town. er a
He was accompanied in his visit
here by H. Harris, state welfare
commissioner for the legion.
The luncheon was prepared by the
Legion auxiliary under direction of
Mrs. c. A. Hoover, and was gotten
up hurriedIy. The tables were beau
tifully decorated and there were
more guests than could be accommo-
dated at one sitting.
James Gillespie was in charge of
the event and he introduced Judge
j. H. Andersen who gave an address
of welcome to the visitors. Mark
Tuohy introduced Commander Ows-
ley who spoke for about twenty
minutes whose message is given in
part below:
Commander Owsley's Address
I am glad to be with you men of
Idaho and Blackfoot today. l came
to your fair state of my own free
will and choice. l was told before
l left my own state of Texas, that
Idaho was very dry, but | have been
In, oh cI,@ 4,
past few days, l find that you can
muster as much rain in night as
we do in Texas in longer period.
l am glad to be with you today, and
now that Judge Andersen has de-
livered to me the keys to the city and
it's cellars, l ought to be the most
popular man in town.
l appreciate what Judge Andersen
said about the Legionaires here be-
ing the cream of the land and the
mired by all, That Is true of the
everywhere in the United
are all alike. This or
ganization stands for the purest Am
it stands for the solution
Of the problems confronting America
today. 1t Is made up of the men
who, when our country's existence
was at stake, went forth In her de-
fence. They now stand for the So
luton Of the problems growing out
Of the war, and will meet them as
they arise.
You will remember that when
there came the call to arms, we
found that one out of every five of
our young men was unable to read
md write, and one out of every four
vas physically unfit for military SER
vice. 1t is part of the problem of
he immediate future to drive Hitter
acy from the land, and to drive out
with it. There are three
,ital things that we as an Organiza-
ion stand fOr-the right of every
4egionaire to have life insurance in
fleet to protect his loved ones when
le is gone The right to have
lone to shelter them, and the right
O own the soil for which he offered
lis life.
We stand for the enactment of
vhat is known as the adjusted COM
ensation act, an. act that gives the
ervice men the choice Of any one
( these three things at the hands
t the government, and altho some
our statesmen, among them your
wn Senator w. E. Borah, oppose
he measure, assure you it will
ecome law in the first ninety days
the next session of congress. You
len of Idaho who stand for recla-
latiOn and the colonfzing of your
lanless lands, you who want gov
rnment aid in retaining the arid
ands and want to attract the cream
American manhood to your state
} share In the cultivation of these
lnds, can do no greater thing for
ourselves than to aid In securing
le enactment of the adjusted COM
ensation act and thus open up the
'ay for government aid for your
rejects and open a way for the land
,ss men to come upon your manless
lnds. There is another reason why
ou ought to get In line for 1t, and
lat is that it is going to be enacted
1yway, and you might as well get
Il the track before the big loco
olive runs over you.
There are indeed, men in the
mate to oppose our efforts; a few
ghts ago I had one of them on the
atform with me, Senator Burson
New Mexico, and l asked him
by it is that he is in favor of loan
G two billion dollars to the Govern
ent of Germany, the country our
en- risked their lives to defeat, and
t is unwilling to appropriate any
)ney for use in setting things right
home and getting business slim
ated. We have, since the Armis-
e was signed, sent more dollars
Europe to relieve their sufferings
ere than we have spent settings
ngs right in our own land. The
nerican Legion has reached the
nclusion that it is unwilling to
lger pour our treasure into sources
loss the seas until we shall have
things right at home. 1t is
commentary on our management
It every clerk and other govern
mt employee who accepted job
ring the war was paid a bonus,
L -