The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1943-04-13
ABOUT LEGION POST

Editor, The Citizen: ga
Would like TO thank Mr.. An
derson of the Arthur Sawyer
Post No. %, American Legion,
for his prompt, snappy and
categorical, to say the least, re-
ply to Lack OF Interest, as in
The Citizen April 5th.
MIR. Anderson talks like a live
wire, though some of his replies
seemed to be putting the cart
before the horse, so to speak
Granted the geographical To-
cation is a liability, still you
have an asset in Key West that
/ believe offsets that, and that
is your climate, which offers
pleasant outside weather condi-
tons offering the opportunity of
successful operation of functions
out in the open. The city fire
men are doing it, / believe.
If some of the proceeds are to
be used from bingo games for
| think the thing to do is to ac-
cumulate the finances first, with
the means at hand (any Wei
located open lot will do, and
generally there is some citizen
patriotic enough to donate the
use of a piece of ground for d
worthy cause like yours, then
after certain fund is secured,
then, and then only, obligate
yourselves on new property.
As for financing carnival,
my experience along these lines
has been for the local organiza-
ton to sponsor the carnival, be-
ing responsible to their own
city for the conduct of the car
nival by obtaining the permit in
the name of the your organi-
cation, and a certain small per-
centage of the gross for the
Community Chest, or local relief
or Red Cross-let your City
Commission decide which. Next,
you furnish, where necessary,
ticket takers and all ticket SELL
ers. Tickets are checked out to
you each performance by the
carnival management, numbers,
at beginning and end being
checked by both).
For. all of this, you are to be
guaranteed percentage, at the
end of the carnival, which
should stand not less than two
weeks.
If the carnival prefers, you
take your percentage each night
well and good-if not, they
post surety bond in your local
bank. And while you're having
your carnival, have one small
dugout, in plain view, for re-
cruiting station for new men,
bers-Legionnaires and SAILS.
I'm glad you wrote the way
you did about the Legion being
a patriotic and Democratic or
ganization, etc. That is good for
people to know. Personally, Tn
very well aware of those things,
and that is one reason / couldn't
understand the lack of activity
of the Key West Post, since I
definitely know that your Flor
ida Department has a consider
able list of names of Legionnaires
from other parts of the coun-
try. but who are, and have
been for some time, stationed in
Key West, but not one notice of
a local meeting not one invita-
ton to any activity of any sort,
not even the location of the local
post. has been mailed to any of
these men, and / haven't been
able. to find any who even knew
where the Post was.
You say there has been no
fanfare, and the membership
arr dttCiA00iiNC itdNG OOl1I DC-
come sadly depleted. That is a
natural consequence, as the fam
fare is the thing that gets and
brings in and keeps members
active, while on the other hand,
your members, if satisfied and
made to feel that they are an
integral part of your organiza-
ton, are your best recruiter.
Maybe a little more so called
fanfare" wouldn't hurt. / new
er heard of a business going on
the rocks which had a good smart
wide-awake publicity depart
ment.
In your reply to Lack of In
terest' / note with pleasure
your enotice of the next meeting
date of Arthur Sawyer Post. It
is COED to see il, and if | am not
on duty that night (also after