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Show iOOSEJELT TO RAISE 1 111 IF MIS Tornier President and His Foui Sons Will Join Organization of First Reserves WOULD ASK FOR A CAVALRY DIVISION Hopes and Prays There Will I, Be No Trouble, but v Wants to Be Ready W YOKE Feb "S Formal an ncuncenient waa made here tonight of th formation of an orgamzat on of the fast reser es to bo known as the Vmerican Legion to be composed of former am v navy and militiamen which will better insure the nation s preparedness m case of war Captain Gordon Johnston aide de ramp to Maior Ceneral Leonard Wood commanding the department of the east, made the announcement on behalf of a group of army and navy men Who, m an unofficial capacity are acting with civilian!, in promoting the movement (captain Johnston said that it is planned to establish witinn a short time a f rst reserve of between 9o0 000 and 300 000 former army - d navy n 1 tiamen for instant call m case of emergence Roosevelt to Join Major General A ood has already given the plan his unoff c al indorse raent, and former President Koosevelt has written a letter approving the pro posal Numerous other public men have indorsed the project and a statement by the promoters says that former sec retaries of war and of the navy have indicated willingness to act in advisory capacit es As ertmg that he and his four sons will become members of the legion, Colonel Koosevelt in a letter to the or Eamzers says that in the event of war he intends to ask congress for perm s sion to ra se a division of cavalry Mr Pooseelt s letter in part follows I and my four sons will gladly become members I very earnestlv V hope and pray that there will be Ji ' no war but the surest way to avert " war is to be prepared for it and tha only way to avert disaster and di'Taee in wax is by preparation both military and naal in ad vance W ould Ask Command In the event of war I should ask permission of congress to raise a division of cavalry that is nine regiments 5uch as the regiment I commanded m Cuba and unqoes t onably the ranks of the e reg ments would largely be f lied from the men of the leg on an 1 would in the r entirety be f lied by men such as those in the legion for in the event of war there will be no t me to tram the men first called upon in such duties as shooting rid ng and taking care of them telves n the open. We should as a nation have be gun to prepare ourselves the minute th s war broke out seven months ago It s absolutely impossible to be sure when there 13 such a tremendous war that we shall not be drawn into it aga nst our will The people of this country are only beginn ng to real ze the extent of our military and naal unprepared ness Will Serve as Chairman Colonel Koosevelt savs he will gladly serve as cha rraan of the legion s board of honorary adv sers and hopes that the leg on will acco nphsh its "purpose in organizing a f rst reserve for he says It is idle for us to trust to arbi trat on and neutral ty treaties un backed by force Let us -act instly toward others and let us also be pro pared w th stout heart and strong hand to defend our rights against miustice f 0 others In a formal staten ent of the a ms K anl oliects of the legion g ven out to n ght bv Capta n Jol ston and h s asso c ates it s sa d that the legion now being ncorporated under the laws of New York state plans to enroll in ts membersl p f rst all men vho have bad army and naval train ng and are there fore eq lpnel for imtan iierv ce B t the legion seel to ou oil pitr ot t sens generally e)e ally thoso ilo taae loon nalla to s ve th n , na or o gau til ml Us. 1 tin of veace b t hoso spo lal qua) f cations nake them 1 edlatelv valuable Integrity Guaranteed The luteer ty anl alue of the n erican 1 pon is guarantee! by the hara te f the promi ent men who s 11 sta d spon or for it eavs th staten ent It has alreidy r ce ed th nolt c al dorseinent of "Mnjo ?one al I eouard Wool the Btro g ap jro al of former Tre? lent Hoose elt and f n nero s other n ot national iron ueuce and wh le the personnel of Its (inee t e con m ttoe an 1 hoar 1 ot honor rv ad sers has not at been f nalh 1e i 1 A upon it can be stated n advance that it will inclule e eral forn er secretaries of the arrnj or navy f orn or Ln ted btates senators collego professors forn er governors leading newspaper men magazine ed tors etc Tho statement says the organ zers of the leg on do not bel ee n n 1 tarisu , but want the countrj to bo prepared for an emergency 1 No one ca i bo sure this co ntrj will not be drnggel into war There fore it s onlv common sense to pro ido aga Dst that ugly poss bll ty A n an may bo prettv euro 1 s ho se will not burn b t he insures it just tl e same it affirms Btis of Organization Captain Johnston n s pigmenting the formal state ent said that wh le the legion was being organized ude pendent of he army or navv and would hae no official connect on w th e ther it wo Id be organ zed along the 1 nes of the geog aphical d vis ons of the army The government he said keeps no record of the men who an nually lea e the arm and navy He estin ated that there are about 250 000 to o00 000 such n en scattered through out the countr -oho ntbn a short period can le enrolled It s planned to have two act ve branches of the legion sail Captain Johnston The 1 ne would be com posed exclusively of men who ha-ve had army or navy serv ce or who can ban die i high power rifle and are seasoned m that fundamental of soldiering tak ng care of themselves roughing t n tho open i comb nation of regulars 8nd rough ndors Special Serwce Branch The spec al service branch of the leg on w 11 accept in its tarous serv ces onlv those men with thoro ghlv technical qualifications such as engi neers doctors a stor blacksm tbs telegraphers, chauffeurs and men of dozens of other special call ngs It w 11 be what the government now lacks a f rst reserve. The government at war and re cruiting for special service Could do onlv what the leg on will do before hand Both f ring line and special service the government could d aw first from the leg on for both its branches would be the best mater al ava lable woull be already partH or gm zed already mobilized jnd all neces arv ind vidnal data including meas urements for government un forn s, caps and shoes previouslj taken and recorded The legion will be divided nto un ts correlated w th those of the reg ular armv and naw rep esent ng all arms of the ser ce Nat onal head quarters will be located temporar lv at Governor s Island N Y and depart ment headquarters w 11 bo establ shed at mportant centers throughout the countrv and all ts possess ons |