Part 5 (2/2)

Colonel Wood, the secretary, explained in greater detail the purpose of the proposed Legion. He broached the subject of the reemployment for soldiers, a legal department for the handling of insurance claims, allotments, etc., and sketched the fundamental principles of the organization as follows:

First, its non-partisans.h.i.+p.

Second, that this society should be equally for those whose duty called them overseas and for those who were held by circ.u.mstances on this side.

Third, that it is fundamentally a civilian organization, one in which all ranks, be they private or general, admiral or seaman, should have an equal share and partic.i.p.ation.

Then the advance committeemen began themselves to talk. Each one, no matter on what subject and regardless of the side he took upon it, was permitted to air his feelings to the full satisfaction of himself at least. Like the Paris Caucus, the discussion grew heated at times and every now and then the chair was forced to remind overly fervid orators that this was an advanced meeting of the caucus and not the convention. There were those present who wanted to obligate the caucus to go on record for or against universal military training, woman suffrage, prohibition, permanent headquarters, and to elect permanent officers, and each of these had to be shown that it would be unfair to the men still in the A.E.F. to take such preeminently vital steps without consulting them. Then there were those present who wanted to exclude members of the regular army and navy from the Legion; that is, to limit eligibility in the organization to those who could show discharge papers from either the army, navy, or marine corps. This measure was voted down and it was given as the sense of the advanced committee meeting that those who served in the Great War would have perfect liberty to join regardless of whether their service continued in the military establishment after the armistice or after peace was formally declared.

The advanced committee outlined the order of business upon which the caucus could proceed, named the various committees to be organized, and discussed the resolutions which were deemed wise and expedient topics for discussion.

On Wednesday afternoon, delegates from every district in the country began to arrive, almost one thousand new Bills, husky of frame, some still in uniform with the red discharge chevron on their left sleeves; others who had manifestly tried to get the new Bill into the old Bill's 1916 suit of clothes, and still others in new bib and tucker, looking exceedingly comfortable after almost two years in putties, heavy shoes, and tight blouses.

Every man came with one deep-rooted determination and that was to see that no one ”put anything over” which might make an organization so embryonically useful take a fatal or selfish step. Each came, perhaps imbued to a certain extent with his own particular ideas on how everything should be conducted; but the radicalism, sectionalism, and partisans.h.i.+p which would have marked a gathering of these same men three years before was not present. The men who had thought that nothing good could come except from south of the Mason and Dixon line had fought side by side with woodsmen from Maine. The man who had thought the East effete had done duty on a destroyer with a boy from Harlem. Everybody realized full well that sectionalism must be abandoned whenever it clashed with nationalism; and abandoned it was, with right good will.

The meeting of the advance committeemen justified itself as a very wise and judicious action on the part of the temporary committee. Any suspicion of a particular delegation that anything was ”framed” was quickly allayed after a conference with its advance committeemen. If a man from Pennsylvania suspected that anything was on foot not to the liking of the Keystone State he had only to ask his advance committeeman, Colonel D'Olier, about it. Incidentally the personnel of the advance committee was not so numerous that everybody couldn't know what everybody else was doing. As a matter of fact, everybody did know what everybody else was doing. One of the most peculiar facts of this most interesting caucus was that when it came to ”_p.u.s.s.y footing_”

p.u.s.s.y seemed to foot it on piano keys so far as secrecy was concerned and in such a fas.h.i.+on that usually the _Star Spangled Banner_ was played. I know that the night and the morning before the caucus met that there were many and various powwows and conferences, a great many of which I attended, but there wasn't a one that I knew of or ever heard about, the full details of which could not have been printed in bold-faced type on the front page of every St. Louis newspaper and have reflected credit on the powwowers as well as on the American Legion.

CHAPTER V

THE ST. LOUIS CAUCUS, MAY 8, 9, AND 10

All during the morning of May 8th that delegation was constantly getting together with this delegation; this leader conferring with that one; was this question going to come up, and what would be done if that question was tabled? Everybody interested, everybody excited, everybody waiting to see the other fellow's hand at the show-down, which was scheduled for the Shubert-Jefferson Theater at half-past two o'clock in the afternoon. Of course, everybody had found out the previous evening that every card in the pack was red, white, and blue, and that, from the very beginning of the game, an attempt had been made to keep the knaves out. As a matter of fact, they'd never been in, but the new Bills who made up the delegations to this caucus were going to look everybody over mighty carefully before any serious playing was done.

Suppressed excitement doesn't describe at all the half-hour preceding the opening of the caucus, because the excitement was not suppressed in the least. Eager, s.h.i.+ning, tanned faces, eyes alert, heads erect, straight-bodied and straight-talking men one by one took seats which were a.s.signed to them by delegations.

A flashlight photograph of the gathering was made, but this caucus was not one that could be pictured by the camera at all accurately. The outstanding feature of this great get together was the spirit of the men, and that no camera could catch.

Three large wooden tiers of seats, the kind the circus has under canvas, were built in a sort of semicircular fas.h.i.+on around the large stage. The New York delegation occupied one of these tiers; the Ohioans another, while the third was built for distinguished guests.

If any distinguished guests came they were entirely put out of the limelight by the audience, for this was one show which was enacted before the footlights rather than behind them, and, with one or two exceptions the star performing took place where the spectators usually sit. In fact, the only spectators that I saw were the newspaper men, seated at tables within the corral formed by the tiers. All of them had been in the army or navy or had seen the big show abroad as war correspondents.

When Theodore Roosevelt, as temporary chairman jammed that gaveled bit of the rudder of the North Pole s.h.i.+p down hard on the table and called the meeting to order he got what he had never received while in the army: that is, direct disobedience. He commanded order, and there was utter disorder. It was rank insubordination, distinctly requiring court-martial of everyone present, from a military point of view--but the American Legion isn't military! And so the delegates howled joyously. Roosevelt, demanding order at this time, had just about as much chance of getting it as the Kaiser has of making Prince Joachim King of the Bronx. Somebody started a cheer, and the crowd didn't stop yelling for two minutes and a half.

”Young Teddy,” as they called him, was manifestly surprised at the ovation and tried repeatedly to get the crowd quiet. He wanted to be pleasant and yet he wanted order and so between knocks with his gavel he smiled. And a very engaging smile it was, too.

”Gentlemen,” he pleaded. ”Gentlemen, a little order.” Finally there was comparative quiet. ”Now let's proceed to the business of the meeting. The floor is open for nominations for permanent chairman of this caucus.”

Sergeant Jack Sullivan of the State of Was.h.i.+ngton got the floor.

Sergeant Jack is a husky northwesterner who did his bit in the intelligence section in Seattle and has seen a lot of the Bolsheviki out there.

”In behalf of the State of Was.h.i.+ngton and representing the men of the rank and file of the Pacific Northwest, it gives me pleasure at this time to place for your consideration the name of a sterling patriot,”

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