The midland journal. (Rising Sun, Md.) 1885-1947, 1925-06-12
AMERICAN LEGION CAMPAIGN
Need and Purpose Of The Fund


A telegram to National Head
quarters of the American Legion
announces that Delaware has gone
over the top with flying colours, in
the five million dollar endowment
campaign. That means that about
half the states have already raised
their quota and indicates that the
campaign will be over several
months before the schedule time.
The Legion has had but one job in
this drive, and that is to make
known to the citizens of this coun-
try the plight OF the orphans OF
former service men and that OF GER
tain brave defenders now stretched
helpless On some hospital cot.
Until this campaign started, there
were many who did not know that
even at this late date we still had
causalty list of fifteen day or one
hundred and five week. 1t hardly
seems possible that so many men
are still dying from wounds or
disease contracted during the war,
but such is the case. In addition,
over thirty-five thousand former en-
listed men are dying each year from
natural causes, SO that the total
death rate amounts to about forty
thousand a year. This tremendous
toll accounts for the thirty-five
thousand orphans of enlisted men
now scattered through the republic
and sad to relate, a survey shows
that five thousand OF those children,
sons and daughters of the bravest
and best, are now in dire want,
homeless, friendless, and in some
cases stricken with diseases. Yes,
it is high time that the public knew
the facts, and the wonderful re-
Spouse to the Legion plea for those
little ones shows that we have not
forgotten the sacrifice made by the
fathers in far away France.
The Legion survey shows that
there are over thirty thousand for
mer service men now stretched on
the cots of government hospitals.
OF these twelve thousand are tuber-
cular cases, twelve thousand mental
cases, and six thousand general
cases. Alarmed by the small per-
centage of cures in these institutions,
the Legion had some OF the most
in a
cular cases make a. survey, and they
reported that unless many hundreds
of these brave fellows got more than
the routine treatment that could be
given them in those hospitals, they
would either die or spend the rest
of their days in some institution for
the permanently insane.
This is no reflection on the hos
pitfalls or the Government. Many of
those men must get away from the
atmosphere of hospitals. They must
feel the personal toch Of some COM
rade. They must have daily en-
couragement in their fight for
:, sanity and renewed health. With
money furnished by the Red Cross,
The Legion experimental with many
men last year. They were taken out
of hospitals and placed under the
care of some legionaire. They were
encouraged to do some light manual
labor such as mending shoes; every
day they have the companionship OF
some interested legionaire or Aux
even better than we anticipated, ano
today many men are now back IN
their old business or profession who
otherwise would have been across
the dark river, or shut away from
the active world be suffering a liv-
ing death in some lunatic asylum.
There are thousands more brave
men that need the same treatment
The Legion has established the
machinery. Practically all the labor
is free. Undertaken by the gov
eminent, this work would cost bill
lions of dollars if indeed it could be
done at all, for it is doubtful indeed
II the best kind OF human com
partnership and sympathy can be
purchased with money. This is
perhaps the greatest work every at
tempted by any organization, and il
gives the citizens an opportunity tc
make an investment paying divi
dends not only in money, but il
human happiness, sanity and life.