Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-09-21
BACKGROUND OF EVENTS
BY PAUL Y. COLLINS.

?. COLLINS.
standing. Therefore. the organization
need not be taken seriously. Cartoons
! in newspapers too often so characterize
the Legionnaires.
! The American Legion idea originated
, in the proposal of Col. Theodore RooSe-
welt, jr., and is so approved that nearly
all high officers of the World War, in
GLIDING Gen. John J. Pershing and
Brig. Gen. Frank T. Hines, head OF the
Veterans Bureau, and practically all the
major generals, especially those VINO
fought overseas, are active Legionnaires
today.
For many years there has been more
or less controversy over the precedence
Of organizations within the Legion, for
it has been alleged that the first post
formed was the George WaShingt ton
Post, No. /, of this city, since it was
fully organized March Z, 1919, at a
meeting of some hundreds of veterans
called by Col. E. Lester Jones and as
sembled at the Cosmos Club, Wash
ington.
That date was one week prior to the
organizing meeting in Paris, which con-
vened March Is. Also the George
| Washington Post, No. Originally
named the John j. Pershing Post
| was the only unit already incorporated
when the st. Louis convention was held
in September, 1919, for the forming Of
the national organization, and, in recoe
milton of its state of development. this
post was given the first charter issued
by the national American Legion.
After considerable investigation Of
the history of events, the present
! writer (who chances to be the COM
mander this year Of the George Wash
ington Post, No. - is convinced that
there is little reason for claiming undue
precedence in the fact that the actual
organization dates one week prior to
the Paris conference, for the cable news
had preceded that weeks difference by
several days, telling what was brewing
in Paris, under the sanction of the
American Expeditionary Forces and
their high command. The activity Of
the Washington group was highly COM
mendable, but in the historic language
spoken in the Cuban War, There's
glory enough for all"
That Paris conference occurred on
March Is, but the original move in
that direction had begun several weeks
in advance when committee or detail
of 20 officers from various parts of
France had been ordered to meet in
Paris to devise ways and means for
lifting the disordered morale Of the
Army, following the armistice, in the
restleSsness of the soldiers, now that
the war was over, who were impatient
to get home and FESTIVE under what
appeared as unnecessary military re-
Straint and routine.
One of these conferees was Col. Theo-
dore Roosevelt, jr, and another was
Capt. Franklin DOlier of Philadelphia,
later national commander of the Amer
lean Legion. 1t is Comdr. D'Olier who
tells the story in a very interesting
article in the July number of the Legion
Monthly.
After the committee in Paris had
talked for two or three days and had
proposed various means of satisfying
the unrest-more athletics in camp
more opportunities for the officers and
men to attend French and English col
leges, if they desired, while awaiting
their homeward trip and a fixed rota-
ton on ships so that the men would
return home in the order that they
had come over-then, when that had
been all arranged, Col. Roosevelt in
vited the detail 10 dinner as his guests
At that dinner he laid the proposal OF
an after-war organization of all vet
| n.
the calling of the organizing meeting
March is, but as the message had to
cover all of France, to reach all camps,
1t required several weeks interval be-
fore the meeting could take place
March 15-hence, although Comdr
D'Olier fails to give the date of that
Roosevelt dinner and the first sug.
gestion of such a meeting to be held
March is, it is obvious that at least a
I month hQUn inf
perS of Paris were discussing it for some
weeks. But news was cabled to Amer
lea, long before the March Is organizing
meeting, and the local group hastenec
to forestall the elimination of the over.
seas plans.
At the st. Louis meeting in septem.
Der. there was insiStent demand thai
Roosevelt accept the first nationa
commandership, but he positively re.
fused to accept any office; it was under.
stood that his refusal was made EN-.
phatic in order to answer the charges
that the whole idea was political"
x Xxx
The Legion's prestige does not rest
wholly upon its numerical strength: il
serves very much needed function in
helping care for the disabled veterans
and pushing their legitimate claims in
the Veterans Bureau and in Congress
oAAu olSO al PAONCSOA1S dIlO CdIulR 1OI
the children of disabled or deceased
veterans. During the year when Gen
James Drain of Washington City was
national commander special fund was
created amounting to several million
dollars, the income of which-$205, 900
annually-is sacred to the orphans and
children of veterans and to welfare
work of the rehabilitation committee
headed by Maj. Watson Miller of this
city. The need of this work is well set
forth in a recent speech by National
Comdr. Paul v. McNutt:
Il have no complaint to make of the
director Of the Veterans Bureau, Of
the heads of our regional offices, or OF
those employed therein. However. be-
ing human, these men may forget that
each file which crosses the desk repre-
sents a human life, and possibly three
or four other human lives. the laws
affecting veterans must be administered
with sympathetic understanding. The
American Legion must be vigilant in
seeing to it that the Veterans Bureau
does not fall into the habit of bureau
cracieS and become entangled in red
tape. For most Of us, the war ended
with the armistice, but for the dis
abled man the war is all the days
all the days. if you know what that
means. He gave all That nan has,
and all that a man can hope TO have
to the Nation. Nothing within the
power Of the Government is tso good
g. LIZ h.