The Sauk Centre herald. (Sauk Centre, Stearns County, Minn.) 1886-current, 1925-12-03
AMERICAN LEGION

Membership in The American Lee
gion will carry with it an initiation
fee of SIS if recommendations made
at the national conference of depart
ment commanders and adjutants of
the Legion are accepted.
The plan proposed provides that
all new members taken into the or
ganization after July l., 1927 would
pay the initiation fee in addition to
the yearly membership charge.
The idea was sponsored by the ma
tional membership committee of the
conference, of which Adjutant Edwin
L. Lindell of the Minnesota Depart
ment is chairman.
1t is believed that payment of
substantial initiation fee would do
away largely with the fuctuating
membership problem and would place
valuation of Legion membership on
higher plane.
1t was felt by the sponsoring COM
mi.tee that sufficient opportunity
should be given to notify all former
service people eligible to Legion men,
bership be1cre the step is taken. For
this reason the date, July 1, 1927,
was decided on.
The committee has asked the vari-
Gus departments to take action on the
recomme ndation at their state con-
ventlons in order that it may be SUBJ
mlted to the national convention in
Philadelphia in 1926.
Minnesota Fights Appeal Board Plan
A fight to have the central board
OF s.ppe ais OF the United States Vet
Grams Bureau travel instead of re-
naming permanently in Chicago was
launched at the department GEM
manders and adjutants conference of
the American Legion in indianapolis
on November 16, II, ad 10, by the
ndepal tment of Minnesota.
AT The conference a resolution was
passed, at the request of Minnesota,
asking that the Chicago Board be
instructed to journey to Minnesota
and Other states within its jurisdic-
ton for hearings instead of being a
permanent fixture in the Windy
City This action follows the refusal
of Director Frank T. Hines of the
Bureau to grant the request for a
recently made by Minnesota.
Minnesota Legion officials believe
that TO permit the board to visit in va
rious parts of the territory under its
jurisdiction at cerain times of he
year, in order that claimants may ap.
pear before the body personally,
would be fairer than to have the
board remain in Chicago and pass on
its cases without personal interviews
with the claimants.
with the backing of the nation
al conference of Legion department
officers, il is believed Minnesota will
have a good chance to gain it's OBJ
jective.
Minnesota Leads Dept. of Michigan
At the close of the second week of
the Legion membership race between
the departmnts of Minnesota and Mich
igan, the Gophers are leading the
Wolverines by the scant margin of
100 members.
This lead has been obtained de-
spite the fact that Minnesota has on
ly approximately one-half the men,
bers necessary to date to keep pace
with the schedule mapped out by Min
nesota Legion Membership Director
Ellard Walsh.
Director Walsh and his advisory
committee have mapped out a pro-
gram calling for 1000 members
week until December 81, when the
department must have $4,000 signed
for 1926 to keep pace with the sched-
ule.
Many Trophies Offered for Members
Minnesota American Legion dis
tricts and posts will work for four
major membership trophies in 1926.
They are: Bronze plaque for the dis
tricts. Engraved gavel for posts.
Spafford trophy for districts and
posts. Streissguth trophy for dis
districts and posts. All trophies will
be awarded on the basis of the great
est percentage of increase in mem
bership over the largest membership
of the past four years. The plaques
will be presented on March 1 to all
districts which at that time have ex-
ceeded their average membership
quota of the past four years. The
gavels will be awarded by Command
er O'Hara to the first post in each
district that on December 81 has ex-
ceeded its largest membership of the
past four years. The Spafford trophy
is presented to Minnesota by the
Department of New York to go to
the best district which in turn will
award it to the post in the district
which on April 1 shows the greatest
membershipincrease over its four
year average. The Streissguth tro-
ply on the same basis-but the
standings will be determined as of
July 81, 1926.
Service Men Given Preference
Qualified service men of the World
War will be allowed a preferred right
to enter and file on the nineteen
tracts of homestead lands thrown OPP
en- for settlement in Minnesota, says
Oscar III. Smith, State immigration
Commissioner. The lands are locat-
ed in Aitlin, Cass, Itasca and Crow
Wing counties, and range from small
islands and lake shore patches of less
than quarter acre up to three hum
dred acres, the total being 1850
acres. These lands had previously