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Show u'r "-v:y$-v - , . y--- VV u; --.r-i ' i 'tinto "... ih I -uflW ' I , ? ti t it f I S i i,?l?ivri I Rinl l1 " 1 Vfrli Wl MTrl rPwi Ml 1 1 s -ti 1 By ELMO SCOTT WATSON ji 1 HIS is the story of how America acquired a new emblem em-blem that red poppy which you will be wearing on Armistice Day. Its flaming petals are symbols of the American blood that was shed on the battlefields of flL Europe during the war-torn years of 1914-18. But, Jf more than that, it is a memorial which honors not only the men who died "over there" but also those who came back alive with the scars of that world tragedy engraved deep upon their bodies and minds our disabled veterans. This is also the story of how the American adop- tion of that emblem for Armistice Day has spread to her countries until the red poppy now has almost as much ternational significance as that other universal symbol the ed Cross. Finally, this is the story of an interesting coincidence, ather, it is the story of two coincidences and one of them is a linintr examole of how "history repeats itself." blems: the flags of the nations, the Red Cross, the Red Triangle, the service flag and pin. Now out of this war should come some symbol perpetually to remind us and unfailingly to teach coming generations the value of the light of liberty and our debt to those who so valiantly saved it for us." She pointed out that it was impossible to have triumphal arches or great memorials in all places from which came men who gave their lives hi the war. But they could be honored by everyone, even the lowliest, by wearing the red poppy. As a result the poppy idea was introduced in-troduced into many of the homecoming home-coming celebrations during 1919. Adopted by Lesion On the eve of the Georgia state convention of the American poppy, provided by Miss Michael. Thus the first coincidence in this story a British army officers' offi-cers' poem, with its reference to a vivid and striking symbol, coming com-ing to the attention of an American Ameri-can woman just two days before the Armistice was signed; the visit of the war workers to her office at the moment when she Michael first dreamed, it has be. come an international emblem. In Europe, besides the British Isles and France, 19 countries wear the blood-colored blossoms in their lapels: Italy, Holland, Germany, Spain, Belgium, Sweden, Swed-en, Switzerland, Poland, Greece and Rumania. Poppies are even worn in Japan, China, Mexico, Asia Minor and in every country coun-try of North and South America. In this country the making of "buddy poppies," as they are called, has become an important factor in the disabled veterans' rehabilitation work. They are made by disabled ex-service men in hospitals in the East, at piecework piece-work cost and the 6ttte departments depart-ments of the Veterans of Foreign For-eign Wars all taken certain quotas. quo-tas. A small amount is deducted for national and state relief and the .rest goes to the posts that sell the poppies to be U6ed as their relief needs arise. The veterans are paid one and one-quarter one-quarter cents for every poppy they make. As for the woman who started all this today the name of Moina Michael means "The Poppy Pop-py Lady" throughout the world. She is one of two women who received the Distinguished Service Serv-ice Medal of the American Legion, Le-gion, the other being Mrs. Calvin Cal-vin Coolidge. A few years ago the Georgia general assembly by resolution conferred upon her the title of "distinguished citizen" citi-zen" for she is a native of the city of Athens in that state. The Second Coincidence And therein lies the second coincidence co-incidence in this story. Back in the spring of 1865 when the War Between the States was drawing to a close, the women of Columbus, Colum-bus, Ga. decorated the graves of their war dead and the following January the members of the Ladies Aid society in that city decided to perpetuate the custom. They picked upon April 26, 1866, the anniversary of the surrender of Gen. Joseph Johnston, the last formal act of the war, as the date for their Memorial day celebration. cel-ebration. Since that time April 26 has been observed as Confederate Con-federate Memorial day in the states of Alabama, Florida, Mississippi Mis-sissippi and Georgia and it is also World War Memorial day in the latter state. From the South the idea of an annual Memorial day Legion, August 19 and 20, 1920, in Augusta, Miss Michael went to the Legion headquarters in Atlanta At-lanta and turned over to them her arguments concerning the adoption of the poppy. Charles M. Galliene of Post No. 1, Atlanta, At-lanta, took charge of the material and presented the movement to the convention. It was adopted and the delegation to the national i convention was instructed to present pre-sent it at Cleveland, Ohio, and to support the resolutions. The resolutions were presented to the national convention in September, Septem-ber, 1920, and the poppy became the national American Legion memorial flower. As the idea spread in this country, coun-try, word of it was carried across the Atlantic. Mme. E. Guerin of Paris read Miss Michael's poem pledging to "keep the faith" and of her plan for wearing poppies to memorialize the sacrifices of the war. She immediately organized organ-ized the American and French children's league and sold poppies pop-pies for the benefit of war orphans or-phans in France. , An International Emblem In an official report which she issued from Canada early in February Feb-ruary she announced: "The World war veterans have sold 1,000,000 small poppies and 200,-000 200,-000 large ones, clearing $90,000 for their relief work and for the French, $80,000 to go to the poor French children of the battlefields." battle-fields." In England the poppy program 1 ' ")7 1 jBjtfjttaakdanVatiAatti .,r,W'AW '' MISS MOINA MICHAEL "The Poppy Lady," Who Gave the Nation an Emblem for Armistice Day. was aglow with the inspiration of a great idea, and their gift which made it possible to put her plan into immediate effect. The next morning Miss Mirhael went to see her friend, rhe day was Saturday, Novem- r 9, 1913. Throughout America :ople were waiting waiting for ' e news which would free many i home from fear and dread, wo days earlier their hopes been raised to the skies, then dashed to the ground by that incident in-cident of the "false armistice." gut now they knew the event , fas inevitable, that the war was ' most over. I On that November morning a 'toman was sitting at a desk in Hamilton hall on the campus of folumbia university in New York City. She was Miss Moina Michael, a member of the t W. C. A. overseas headquarters headquar-ters staff. A soldier entered the loom and placed a copy of a Magazine on her desk. Leafing t rough it, she noticed a poem. Pt started to read : Jin Flanders fields the poppies I blow Between t h e crosses, row on row . . ." 1 She read it through, then deeply deep-ly stirred by the lines which had een penned by Col. John Mc-frae Mc-frae of the British army, she fad it again and again. Then in jpden inspiration she seized a jpsn and a sheet of paper and Inote this reply to it: Oh! You who sleep in Flanders Fields, Sleep sweet to rise anew! We caught the Torch you threw And holding high, we keep the Faith With all who died. We cherish, too, the Poppy red t grows on fields where valor led: It seems to signal to the skies That blood of heroes never dies. But lends a lustre to the red 01 the flower that blooms above the dead hi Flanders Fields, tod now the Torch and Poppy red Jfe'U wear in honor of our dead. F'ar not that ye have died for ( naught; We'll teach the lessons that ye wrought " Flanders Fields. When she had finished, she rented re-nted to herself "the poppy red e H wear in honor of our dead." e would do that herself and "e would ask others to do it too. l that moment three overseas :; C. A. and Y. W. C. A, workers, who had been attending iM?Lerence at Columbia, came the room. They had brought check for $10 in apprecia-n apprecia-n of her efforts to make a "odel hostess house of their head-luarters. head-luarters. The First Coincidence Immediately Miss Michael told em about the poem she had w : read and the one she had en in reply to it. Further- lVue told them tha the $10 fo, Ka be spent to buy poppies J ner friends to wear In honor eldsSe tJ10 "he Zanders thiKil.i- ey were 89 en wa i lc about the idea as she nce Rf,turning to their confer-mor0!uey confer-mor0!uey spread the news on( tis' Tha afternoon every-ine every-ine was wearing a red Michael went to see her mena, Dean Talcott Williams of the Columbia school of journalism. She explained her idea to him. He was much impressed and offered of-fered to pass it along to a war workers committee which was meeting that afternoon.' On that committee were Mrs. Preston (the widow of President Cleveland), Cleve-land), Rodman Wanamaker and other notables. Their indorsement indorse-ment of the idea would give its adoption a tremendous impetus. They indorsed it enthusiastically so Dean Williams reported to Miss Michael after the meeting. November 11 at last, the news for which everyone had been waiting. wait-ing. The Armistice was signedl The war was over! After the first thrill of victory had passed, after the tumult and shouting of the celebrations had subsided, people began to think solemnly, reverently of those who had helped help-ed win that victory but were denied de-nied the joy of knowing that the victory was won. .r the Dead. Short days ago P i - i-' b , ....UJi m.u m,mi a,t. J,. Mln . Mil ,i.ti..ririr.l.fr,i,f, , Disabled World war veterans making "buddy popples" to be told throughout the country by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, the proceeds being devoted exclusively to welfare work among disabled dis-abled veterans and ex-service men. We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset sun-set glow, Loved and were loved, and now we lie In Flanders fields. America, thinking of them, turned a sympathetic ear to this woman who was givinC all her energies to spreading the Idea of the poppy as a national emblem. She wrote innumerable letters fo women's clubs to patr o ic organizations, to educational i u stttutions, to civic bodies. Out of every great event of the world has come8an emblem." she said, "Into this war went many em- flourished tremendously. Earl Haig's British Legion adopted the selling and wearing of poppies in 1921 and since that time more than $11,000,000 has been cleared for ex-service men. In 1927 alone the British legionnaires sold 28,-000,000 28,-000,000 poppies and made a profit prof-it of $2,522,000. In 1928 the sales reached the $3,000,000 mark. Instead of the poppy becoming a national emblem, as Miss for decorating the graves of the war dead spread to the North, even though a different day, May 30, was chosen. But it was a group of Georgia women who gave to the nation the idea of Memorial day and it was a Georgia woman who gave to it the idea of the red poppy as a symbol of that other day of memory Armistice Day. O Weatara kw reaper Unioa. |