LEGION FACTS.
What has gone before is the story of the American Legion in the making. Now it is a going, growing institution.
Because it will be of vital interest and importance to every one of the four million Americans who wore the uniform, the following information concerning the American Legion, in the form of questions and answers, is here given, as follows:
(1) What is the American Legion?
(a) It is the organization of American veterans of the World
War.
(2) Who is eligible?
(a) Any soldier, sailor or marine who served honorably between
April 6, 1917, and November 11, 1918.
(3) Are women eligible?
(a) Yes, those who were regularly enlisted or commissioned in
the army, navy or marine corps.
(4) When was the Legion started?
(a) It was first organized in Paris, March 15 to 17, 1919, by a
thousand officers and men, delegates from all the units of the
American Expeditionary Force to an organization caucus meeting,
which adopted a tentative constitution and selected the name
"American Legion."
(5) What has been done in America regarding it?
(a) The action of the Paris meeting was confirmed and endorsed
by a similar meeting held in St. Louis, May 8 to 10, 1919, when
the Legion was formally recognized by the troops who served in
the United States.
(6) Are the organizations in France and America separate?
(a) No. The Paris caucus appointed an Executive Committee of
seventeen officers and men to represent the troops in France in
the conduct of the Legion. The St. Louis caucus appointed a
similar Committee of Seventeen. These two Executive Committees
have amalgamated and are now the governing body of the Legion.
(7) Who are the officers of this national governing body?
(a) Henry D. Lindsley, Texas, Chairman; Bennett C. Clark,
Missouri, Vice-Chairman; Eric Fisher Wood, Pennsylvania,
Secretary; Gaspar G. Bacon, Massachusetts, Treasurer.
(8) Where are the temporary National Headquarters of the
Legion?
(a) At 19 West 44th Street, New York City.
(9) When will the final step in the organization of the
Legion
take place?
(a) November 10, 11 and 12, at Minneapolis, Minn., when a great
National Convention will be held.
(10) Why were those dates selected?
(a) Because by that time practically all of the men of the
A.E.F. will be at home and will have been able to participate
in
the election of their delegates to the Convention.
(11) Who were some of the men who initiated the formation of
the Legion?
(a) Lt. Col. Theodore Roosevelt, of the First Division; Col.
Henry D. Lindsley, formerly Mayor of Dallas, Texas; Sgt. "Jack"
Sullivan, of Seattle; Lt. Col. Franklin D'Olier, of
Philadelphia; Ex-Senator Luke Lea, of Tennessee; Lt. Col.
Frederick Huedekoper, of Washington, D.C.; Major Redmond C.
Stewart, of Baltimore; Wagoner Dale Shaw, of Iowa; Lt. Col.
George A. White, of Oregon; "Bill" Donovan, of the "Fighting
69th"; Major Thomas R. Gowenlock, of Illinois; Sgt. Alvin C.
York, of Tennessee; Colonel John Price Jackson, of the S.O.S.;
Lt. Col. "Jack" Greenway, of Arizona; Sgt. Roy C. Haines, of
Maine; George Edward Buxton, of Rhode Island; Eric Fisher Wood,
of Pennsylvania; Chaplain John W. Inzer, of Alabama; Lt. Col.
David M. Goodrich, of Akron; Chief Petty Officer B.J. Goldberg,
of Chicago; "Tom" Miller, of Delaware; Major Alex. Laughlin,
Jr., of Pittsburgh; Major Henry Leonard, of the Marine Corps;
Dwight J. Davis, of the 35th Division; Corporal Charles S. Pew,
of Montana; General William G. Price, of the 28th Division;
Bishop Charles S. Brent, Senior Chaplain of the A.E.F.; General
O'Ryan, of the 27th Division; Stewart Edward White, of
California; Private Jesus M. Baca, of New Mexico; General
Charles H. Cole, of the 26th Division; Sgt. E.L. Malsbary, of
Nevada; Lt. Samuel Gompers, Jr., of New York; Col. Henry L.
Stimpson, Ex-Secretary of War; Lt. Col. Charles W. Whittlesey,
Commander of the "Lost Battalion"; Leroy Hoffman, of Oklahoma;
Lt. Col. A. Piatt Andrew, of the American Ambulance in France;
General Harvey J. Moss, of the State of Washington; John
MacVicar, Mayor of Des Moines before the War; Sgt. George H.H.
Pratt, of New Orleans; Col. F.C. Galbraith, of Cincinnati;
Corporal Joseph H. Fountain, of Vermont; Devereux Milburn, of
the 78th Division; Lt. Col. Wilbur Smith, of the 89th Division;
Sgt. Theodore Myers, of Pennsylvania; Col. Bennett C. Clark,
son
of Champ Clark; Robert Bacon, Ex-Secretary of State.
(12) What did the Legion, do at its St. Louis caucus?
(a) It demanded investigation of the pardon and subsequent
honorable discharge by the War Department of convicted
conscientious objectors.
(b) It condemned the action of the I.W.Ws., the Anarchists, and
the International Socialists.
(c) It protested against certain nefarious business concerns who
are employing men in uniform to peddle their wares.
(d) It recommended that Congress should take steps to reclaim
arid, swamp and cut over timber lands and give the work of
doing
this to ex-service men, and give the land to them when it had
been made available for farming purposes.
(e) It demanded of Congress the same disability pay for men of
the National Guard and National Army as now pertains to those
in
the Regular establishment.
(f) It initiated a campaign to secure to service men their
rights and privileges under the War Risk Insurance Act.
(g) It demanded that Congress should deport to their own
countries those aliens who refused to join the colors at the
outbreak of the war, and pleaded their citizenship in other
countries to escape the draft.
(h) It undertook to see that disabled soldiers, sailors and
marines should be brought into contact with the Rehabilitation
Department of the Government, which department helps them to
learn and gain lucrative occupations.
(i) It authorized the appointment of a competent legislative
committee to see that the above recommendations were
effectively
acted upon by Congress, and that committee has been appointed
and is now at work.
(j) It authorized the establishment of a bureau to aid service
men to get re-employment; and of a legal bureau to help them
get
from the Government their overdue pay and allotments. These two
bureaus are being organized at the National Headquarters of the
Legion and will be in active operation by July 1st.
(13) What else did the St. Louis caucus do?
(a) It endorsed all steps taken by the Paris caucus, and adopted
a temporary constitution which conformed to the tentative
constitution adopted in Paris.
(14) What does this Constitution stand for?
(a) The preamble answers that question; it reads: "For God and
Country we associate ourselves together for the following
purposes: To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United
States of America; to maintain law and order; to foster and
perpetuate a one hundred per cent. Americanism; to preserve the
memories and incidents of our association in the Great War; to
inculcate a sense of individual obligations to the community,
state and nation; to combat the autocracy of both the classes
and the masses; to make right the master of might; to promote
peace and good will on earth; to safeguard and transmit to
posterity the principles of justice, freedom and democracy; to
consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to
mutual helpfulness."
(15) How does the Legion govern itself?
(a) The Constitution provides that the legislative body of the
organization shall be a national convention, to be held
annually
... composed of delegates and alternates from each state, from
the District of Columbia and from each territory and
territorial
possession of the United States.
(16) How is the Legion organized?
(a) It is composed of State Branches, and these in turn are made
up of Local Posts.
(17) What is a Local Post?
(a) The Constitution states that a Local Post shall have a
minimum membership of fifteen. No Post shall be received into
the Legion until it has received a charter. A Post desiring a
charter shall apply for it to the State Branch, and the charter
will be issued, upon recommendation of this State Branch, by
the
National Executive Committee. No Post may be named after any
living person.
(18) How can I join the American Legion?
(a) By filling out the Enrollment Blank on the last page of this
booklet and mailing it to the State Secretary of your home
state, whose name is listed below. If there is a Local Post in
your home town, your name and address will be sent to the Post
Commander. If there is no Post in your home town, START ONE,
write your State Secretary for the necessary particulars. The
State Secretaries are:
ALABAMA. - Leroy Jacobs, care Jacobs Furniture Co., Birmingham.
ARIZONA. - Fred B. Townsend, National Bank, Arizona Bldg.,
Phoenix.
ARKANSAS. - Granville Burrow, Little Rock.
CALIFORNIA. - E.E. Bohlen, 926 Flood Bldg., San Francisco.
COLORADO. - Morton M. David, 401 Empire Bldg., Denver.
CONNECTICUT. - Alfred A. Phillips, Jr., 110 Glenbrook Rd.,
Stamford.
DELAWARE. - L.K. Carpenter, Du Pont Bldg., Wilmington.
DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA. - Howard Fisk, 833 Southern Bldg.,
Washington.
FLORIDA. - J.T. Wiggington, 818 15th St., Miami.
GEORGIA. - Louis H. Bell, care of Service Record, 208 Flatiron
Bldg., Atlanta.
HAWAII. - J.P. Morgan, Box 188, Honolulu.
IDAHO. - Laverne Collier, Pocatello.
ILLINOIS. - Name not received yet.
INDIANA. - L. Russell Newgent, 518 Hume Monsur Bldg.,
Indianapolis.
IOWA. - John MacVicar, 336 Hubbell Bldg., Des Moines.
KANSAS. - Ike Lambert, Emporia.
KENTUCKY. - D.A. Sachs, Louisville.
LOUISIANA. - T.H.H. Pratt, 721 Hibernia Bank, New Orleans.
MAINE. - James L. Boyle, 184 Water St., Augusta.
MARYLAND. - Alex. Randall, 12 West Chase St., Baltimore.
MASSACHUSETTS. - George F. Gilbody, 3 Van Winkle St., Boston.
MICHIGAN. - Ryle D. Tabor, 312 Moffatt Bldg., Detroit.
MINNESOTA. - Merle E. Eaton, care of Lee &Lewis Grain Co., 200
Corn Exchange Bldg., Minneapolis.
MISSISSIPPI. - John M. Alexander, Jackson.
MISSOURI. - Ed. J. Cahill, Service Commission, Jefferson City.
MONTANA. - Ben W. Barnett, Helena.
NEBRASKA. - Allan A. Tukey, 1st National Bank Bldg., Omaha.
NEVADA. - J.D. Salter, Winnimucca.
NEW HAMPSHIRE. - Frank J. Abbott, Manchester.
NEW JERSEY. - George W.C. McCarter, 765 Broad St., Newark.
NEW MEXICO. - Harry Howard Dorman, Santa Fe.
NEW YORK. - Wade H. Hayes, 140 Nassau St.
NORTH CAROLINA. - Charles N. Hulvey, A. &E. College, Raleigh.
NORTH DAKOTA. - Ed. E. Gearey, Fargo.
OHIO. - Chalmers R. Wilson, Adj. Gen. Office, State House,
Columbus.
OKLAHOMA. - F.W. Fisher, Oklahoma City.
OREGON. - Dow V. Walker, care Multnomah Club, Portland.
PENNSYLVANIA. - George F. Tyler, 121 S. 5th St., Philadelphia.
RHODE ISLAND. - James E. Cummiskey, Crompton.
SOUTH CAROLINA. - Ben. D. Fulton, 32 West Evans St., Florence.
SOUTH DAKOTA. - J.C. Denison, Vermillion.
TENNESSEE. - W.R. Craig, Nat. Life and Accident Co., Nashville.
TEXAS. - J.A. Belzer, Austin.
UTAH. - Baldwin Robertson, 409 Ten Boston Bldg., Salt Lake City.
VERMONT. - Joseph H. Fountain, 138 Colchester Ave., Burlington.
VIRGINIA. - R.G.M. Ross, 508 First National Bank Bldg., Newport
News.
WASHINGTON. - George R. Drever, care Adj. Gen. Office, Armory,
Seattle.
WEST VIRGINIA. - Chas. McCamic, 904 National Bank of West
Virginia Bldg., Wheeling.
WISCONSIN. - R.N. Gibson, Grand Rapids.
WYOMING. - R.H. Nichols, Casper.