The Nonpartisan Leader Newspaper, December 1, 1919, Page 7

: THE AMERICAN LEGION ' HE national convention of the American Legion recently brought to Minneapolis about 1,000 delegates. During the ; glebate on the bonus question—the big fight of the conven- tion—it was charged by an enlisted man and admitted by an of- ficer that the majority of delegates were officers. It should have been otherwise. Enlisted men should have been represented to the same degree that they were represented during the fighting of 1917 and 1918—about ten men to one officer. The principal reason why enlisted men were not so represented at the conven- tion, in all probability, was because they did not have enough money to pay their fare and expenses to the convention city, while a majority of the officers did. = Yet in spite of the fact that it was largely an officers’ con- vention instead of a convention -of enlisted men, the majority of the delegates undoubtedly worked for what they felt was for the best interests of the enlisted men. How did it happen, then, that the convention sidestepped, so far as it was humanly possible toe do so, the uestion of a bonus, the question that was uppermost in the minds of the enlisted men? How did it happen that the group of 20 colonels, lieutenant colonels and majors, who took the original steps to organize the Legion and have held control . ever since, was continued in power? How did it happen that the . convention elected, out of this group of 20 higher officers, D’Olier of the noncombatant quartermaster corps for their national com- mander, in preference to a genuine fighting man who was clearly the popular choice? How did it happen that the controlling group was able to sidestep, throughout the convention, any explanation of where they got the $257,000 that they borrowed to start' the Legion, when there was a genuine demand for an accounting ? The reason is, of course, that any group that once has secured control of an organization is able by manipulation of the rules, by arrangement of program, by recognition of speakers, by appoint- ment of committees and by trading favors to extend its influence immeasurably. It requires not a majority, but an overwhelming -majority, to overthrow such a leadership as the Legion has had from the start, and still has, in , the Roosevelt-Lindsley-D’Olier ¢ 7wouc#7 we L7 g F CERE “CrviLe. .~ THE PROGEAM group. - S kong FOR To0AY Wite Voting power at the.conven- tion went, not - on the basis of actual attendance, but on the ba- sis of money paid into the treas- ury by the various states. Thus the rich states of New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois virtual- ly were able to force the election of D’Olier against the more pop-. - ular McNider as national com- mander: According to current re- port, a group of New York dele- - 8E. gates collected a “pot” of $20,000 and paid it in after the delegation : had arrived in Minneapolis, to get additional votes. Seating arrange- ments were made so that the Pennsylvania and Oklahoma delega- tions, in the forefront of the fight against a bonus, were on the front of the platform, able to get recognition from the chairman and furnish a speaker any time the fight got desperate;, while the more liberal delegations from western states, who were for a bonus, _ were simply lost in the rear of the hall or in the galleries. When a . demand was made for an accounting of the mysterious $257,000 that the controlling group had borrowed from somewhere, response was made by reading a.list of states, declaring that New York had furnished such a sum, Indiana so much, Pennsylvania so much, etc., etc., apparently with a view toward leaving the impression that eévery man, woman and child in the states named had contributed pro rata. What the delegates wanted to know, of course, was what financial interests had provided the money and what prom- ises had been made to get. it. : i The membership of the Americail Legion is so large that there is no question of its genuineness and sincerity. Even the delegates at the national convention, largely lieutenants and captains, sought, - in the main, to represent the interests of the American soldier as they saw them. -But the men of the rank and file, who want to see the American Legion used to further the cause of justice and democracy, still have a long, hard fight ahead of them, if fhey are to take their organization out of the hands of the 20 colonels, licu- tenant colonels and majors who organized it in France, ran the St. Louis caucus, ran the Minneapolis convention ‘and, having kept themselves in power for another year, now regard the Legion as their very own, to do with what they please. ; ANOTHER FRAZIER ANADA is to have a Frazier. He is E. C. Drury, farmer, and he is to be premier of the province of Ontario .as a re- sult of the sweeping political victory of the organized farm- ers, known as.the United Farmers of Ontario. The farmers did not elect a majority of the Ontario legislature, but they elected many more members than any other one party, snowing under the . two old parties, the Conservatives and Liberals. But by co-oper- ating with 11 members elected by labor and with progressive in- dividuals of other parties, the farmers are able, as it is known in Canada, “to form a government.” The chief executive of the Cana- dian provinces is not. elected by the people as an executive but-is ‘ment operation is a failure; that ~ withdraw its fight for public ownership. 2% _PAGE SEVEN s ISE A o el ey, chosen from among the legisiators by the majority in the provin- cial parliament. us Farmer Drury becomes premier. : According to the Farmers’ Sun of Toronto, Mr. Drury is of the third generation of an on-the-land, native Canadian farmer fam- - ily. The family land was a crown grant (we call it a homestead in h Anieriga) made in 1819. Continuing the Sun says of this new farm- er leader: He is a graduate of the Agricultural college, has served as Farm- ers’ institute lecturer and is a progressive farmer in the best sense of the term. He is neither a fancy farmer or a faddist. He has fol- lowed the safe lines of mixed husbandry—shorthorn cattle, Oxford sheep, hogs, with the products of the farm marketed on the hoof or in the cream can. While giving his main atten- tion to the farm, as all successful . farmers must do, he has follow- ed up a sound and practical edu- cational course by wide reading, he has been a lifelong student of public affairs and has given his full share of attention to his du- ties as a citizen. While a farmer by occupation, and always a stout champion of the interests of agri- culture, Mr. Drury is before all else a Canadian citizen, with all that the term implies. All inter- i ests can depend on receiving full | justice at his hands. His general ! attitude was well represented in his speech sccepting the nomination j tendered him. | § | CONGRATULATIONS ! Reads like a description of Governor Frazier of North Dako- ta, doesn’t it? ' HYPOCRISY AND HONESTY HY is it that those who use “law and order” as their slogan ‘;\/ really are the chief violators-of law and order? Why do those who shout loudest that “the Constitution must be preserved,” call for suppression of free speech and peaceful as- sembly, the most important guarantees of the Constitution? How does it happen that those who claim to be the only exponents of § simon-pure Americanism, really are those who are the bitterest @ enemies of real democracy, the very basis of true Americanism ? - Honest men do not.condone deportations and lynchings, while claiming to be for law and order. They do not clamor for suppres- | sion of free speech, while claiming to be defenders of the Constitu- tion, which guarantees free speech. They do not fight every pro- * gressive movement while claiming they are champions of Amer- icanism, whose fundamental doctrine is the right of the people to change laws and constitutions to keep pace with civilization. WITH THE PROPAGANDISTS ;% EVER since the United States government was compelled to i “take over the railroads, to prevent them from becoming a ! total wreck during the war, a ceaseless propaganda, backed " by Wall street, has been at work seeking their return. Is the Podunk accommodation train 10 minutes late? Due to government operation. Is Mr. Smith dissatisfied with the soft- boiled eggs he got on the diner? What can you expect when the government is in charge? Is-everybody sore because it costs more for fares? Blame the government. And because in spite of the higher passenger fares and freight rates the roads are still charged with a deficit? ‘Hit the government again. - Now the railroad stockholders and managers assert jubilantly that their propaganda has succeeded; that they have convinced the American public that govern- § DOWN WITH GOVERNMENT. OWNIRSHIP! i, congress is about' to turn the- %3 70857 /5 BURNT ! ; roads back to their owners. So 3 be it. Let us admit all these statements for argument’s sake. The fact remains that when the roads are turned back to private ownership and control, if they are turned back, rates will be just as high; if not a little higher, the deficit will be just as great, or possibly a little great- er, the Podunk accommodation train will still run 10 minutes - , late occasionally, or possibly 11 minutes late, and Mr. Smith is likely | to. be dissatisfied, now and then, with the way his soft-boiled eggs | are served. And it is possible that he may kick about his toast also. | Undoubtedly many right-meaning persons have been influenced ! with the arguments: put out by Wall street and its organs, laying higher rates, operating deficits and poor service to government § operation. Such persons we invite to watch carefully what happens when the roads are turned back to.private management, if they § arel o ; ~ For our part, we are willing to make this frank and free offer. If the return of the roads to full private operation (they never have ! been under complete government operation) accomplishes’ all the & miracles that Wall street claims, the Nonpartisan Leader offers to- ’