Evening star., 1937-09-02
100000 VETERANS
TOATTEND PAR[EY
Biggest Convention That the
Legion Will Ever Have
to Jam New York.
By the Associated Press.


NEW YORK, September 2.-The
big town started getting bigger today
as . vanguard of American World
War veterans began a march back
to New York.
They we're the first delegates to the
American Legion convention-the
first of 100000 men and women who
are expected to attend the festivities
starting officially September 20 and
lasting five days.
The visitors are arriving now by
automobile and trailer Later on
there will be more than 100 special
trains and capacity bookings on air.
planes The hotels already have post
ed the little cards which say, in ef-
feet: IT'S no use; were filled for
that week"
But no matter if the hotels do
overflow, New York plans to house
every Legionnaire and entertain him,
too. There are 25 committees work.
Ing l8 hours day to see to that
The Housing Committee will utilize
ships in the harbor, Pullman cars in
railroad yards, even 10000 rooms in
private homes
THE Biggest Ever"
Harry w. Colmery. national COM
mander Of the Legion, is exuberant
over the convention outlook. This
will be the biggest convention the
Legion has had" he said-and added,
bit quietly. "or ever will have
The Legionnaires, it seems, first
paraded on Fifth avenue 20 years
ago Some of them did. that is;
most Of them were shipped out
aboard transports under cover of
darkness from Hoboken, N j., across
the Hudson from Manhattan. The
men who are in the Legion now av-
eraged only "a years of age then.
Now the Legion has membership
of 100000 men whose average age
is "A years 1t is near the top of its
expected membership, which reached
100000 in 1881.
The committees don't expect by
their estimates that half the member
ship Will be here, in their 100000
guess they include the fact that 86
per cent of Legionnaires are married,
and there will be children coming
with many.
With the questions Of the bonus and
prohibition out of the way, Legion
officials expect no political issue to
b,,c, of L1
convention. There will be an effort,
however, to pass a resolution recon-
mending universal service in time
OF war"
Parade Is High Light.
The proposal is to draft capital and
industry as we'll as manpower in the
United States in the event of war.
The high event of the program will
be Tuesday, September 81, when the
Legionnaires parade up Fifth avenue
with 500 bands playing The march
ers will cover only miles, but the
march is expected to take about II
hours, lasting until about am.
But that's only one parade.
"There'l be parade every min
utes-an official one, I mean" as
serted one committee man. When
the visiting outfits detrain on Septem-
ber l9 and 20 they'll march to their
particular hotels behind their own
bands. Then they'll march to the
other hotels. serenading-they1 walk
right into the lobbies playing Made
moiselle From Armentiers' and Ma
delon' and New York will like it."
425,000 Women.
Each Legionnaire, as he registers
will pay 81 and receive his badge
official program and a book Of tick
cts which, without further ado en-
titles him to everything from sight
seeing trips all over Manhattan to
boxing matches in Madison Square
Garden.
There, with seating capacity OF
10000, will be the first convention
meeting at $50 am. Monday, Sep
tember 20; Tuesday. the Fifth ave-
nue. parade, Wednesday, business
sessoion in the Metropolitan Opera
House; Thursday, the annual election
OF officers
These latter activities are separate
from the American Legion Auxiliary,
with its 425 900 members, which will
be in convention at the same time,
with headquarters at the Hotel Astor.
planned for the women as the men.