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Show I' ASKS LEGION TO SING A SONG The American Legion will probably be wise to sidestep the proposal of certain business executives that it sponsor a campaign "to keep Americans sold on Americanism." Naturally, no one objects to the general principle but interpretations will differ greatly and there is danger that the campaign might be misunderstood. It seems that a few industrialists conceived the idea of collecting from business sources about twenty billion dollars a year to "educate the public' as to the future of free enterprise and American initiative, R. II. Barnard, one of the industrialists, has discussed the proposal privately with Legion leaders. He admits that "industry cannot sponsor spon-sor it" and that the Chamber of Commerce or the Manufacturers' Association cannot sponsor the campaign. He asserts that industry has lost prestige pres-tige and that business men are no longer leading affairs. Major Darrel T. Lane, of Utah, one of the members mem-bers of the Americanism Commission of the Legion, questions whether the public would respond to a cam- paign financed by a fund given by "business men." He put his finger on the matter when he pointed out that while the Legion collected a child welfare endowment en-dowment fund and spent money on Americanism, "we raise it from our own pockets." This is an intelligent observation. The Legion Leg-ion would suffer in prestige if it became a stalking-horse for any group of businessmen, interested inter-ested in a propaganda job regardless of the high-sounding high-sounding motives contained in its general principles. princi-ples. If the Legion wants to undertake such a campaign cam-paign and the campaign met with popular response, the Legion could raise the necessary funds without the intercession of collection-plate passers to approach ap-proach a class of business generally regarded as "big business." |