The Omaha guide., 1946-07-06
X E. HANSEN
O ON AVG
At
DES MONIES
PASS ANTI-DISCRIMIN-
ALTON CLAUSE

I have just returned from a
veterans convention. A veterans
convention without seeing a sin
gle drunk. without a parade
where no one dropped water bags
from hotel windows, and where
mattresses could maneuver about
without having their skirts ripped
off by a funny man with a cock
hat and a tin horn-no not even
any funny hats. Twas proud that
1 was a member of the American
Veterans Committee and I felt
that I was a part of an important
epoch-making event.
But before going into the con-
vention I would like to go into a
little background of AVG to give
you an idea of what we were try
ing to do at Des Moines. About
8 years ago three CTS and two
officers. got together by mail and
decided that if veterans were to
attain jobs, peace and freedom
that men were winning all over
the world, they must form a vet
Grams organization which wouldd
do the job. However, they didn't
feel that it was fair to draw up a
cut and dried organization to
shove at the veteran when he re-
turned and say-here it is you
want to join Or don't you? Instead
they felt that veterans should
have the opportunity after all the
back to set down together and
draw UP the kind of organization
which would give us that more
democratic and prosperous Amer
lea in a world organized against
war. Before Des Moines it was
lust what the name implies-a
committee. In committee form it
had grown to 6O,O0 members with
500 chapter in IS states and over
seas chapters all the way from
Tokyo to Berlin. The organization
had grown so large that it wa
cot possible for ell or members
to set don togetNer and talk !
over so a rv7tem of delegates had
to be evolved and out of that $50
delegates met in Des Moines re-
presenting the 10000 members.
To assume that it was a quiet
affair becarse there was no drink
ing or rowdynesT would be a very
wrong impression indeed. Caucu-
ses were in session all night Ion"
and when the nominating, Mat
form and contribution committee
adjourned e~r@unentS carried
IN on an Individual basis Thomas
L. Stokes said this convention was
something such as was never seen
before by this writer in 25 year,
of covering national and state po-
1itical and. other conventions.
Even as few conventions (our
state Farmers Union Convention
this wear heir~ nv first) as I
have attended it impressed me as
being something more than just
the ordinary kind of convention.
It was a bunch of serious veterans
who realized the seriousness OF
our times.
Then when a veterans organi-
cations goes on record against a
bonus. that's news. The AVCs
motto is citizens first, veterans,
second" and therefore we believe
that the welfare of the veteran is
inseparable from that of the COM
munity, the nation-the world
AVG not only went on recoSd
as being against discrimination OF
any kind but we showed by action
that we really meant. Only a few
hours after we had passed u
anti-discrimination plank, a local
restaurant refused to serve one
of our Negro delegates. AS soon
as the convention heard of n IN
cident it set up a committee to
investigate and about fifty dele
gates, lead by Oren Root, Jr.,
former chairman of the Wilkie
Clubs in 1940) picketed the place,
chanting r'Jim Crow must 60:
The police captain was summoned
and the proprietor of the cafe
was arrested for violating the
state anti-discrimination law. The
whole demonstration was extreme
ly well conducted and lasted only
about half an hour. Then several
hundred dollars were collected fer
placing an announcement in the
local papers thanking the city
authorities for their cooperation
and reminding them that the AVG
practiced what it preached.
Charles Bolte our present chair
man was reelected chairman by
acclamation-except for n die
hard dissenter. The real fight was
on the vice-chairmanship. Harri-
son, founder of AVG. ran against
Norris Helford. Harrison winning
out.
The offices filled were that of
a National Planning Committee
and which contains a number of
exceptionally able men. Some of
them are Franklin D.. Roosevelt,
Jr., Oren Root, Jr.; Robert Ma
than; Michale Straight; E. ]. Kahn
and Cord Meyer (Harold Stassen's
advisor at the San Francisco Con-
ference).
Our speakers included Henry,
Wallace, Harold Stassen ian AVG
member, Representative Monron-
ey, Bishop B. J. Shell and Walter