Show Birthday Greetings to the Legion T TOMORROW TOMORROW the American Legion celebrates the twenty second anniversary of its birthday birthday birthday birth birth- day on March 15 1919 On that date representatives representatives representatives of the the American expeditionary force lorce met in Paris France to plan the organization organ of World war veterans veterans' which was to become the American Legion All over the nation legion posts and state organizations are celebrating this event Inmany in inmany inmany many ways with greater attention and significance significance cance than in past years In Utah the annIversary anniversary anniversary anni annI- is being celebrated today rather than tomorrow The birthday party of the Utah legion will be also an annual reunion and it is exp expected that nearly a thousand distinguished guests visitors and Utah legionnaires will attend attend attend at at- tend the reunion reception and banquet It is appropriate that special attention be paid not just by me members bers of the legion but by the public generally to the legions legion's anniversary this year Ever since its inception the legion has held last fast to the fundamental tenets of Americanism patriotism and adequate preparedness for natIonal national national na na- na defense For a good many years those principles did not concern the people of America America Amer Amer- ica lea very much During the war post boom period we were too busy forgetting war var and making n and spending money During the depression de de- de all our attention was focused on our economic troubles and and andon on on our political efforts to devise a cure Suddenly now those tim time honored honored principles of ot the legion have become very important to tous tous tous us all We are greatly concerned with our bur preparedness preparedness preparedness pre pre- to defend our country against ag- ag We are imbued with patriotism and anxious to insure the per cent Americanism and loyalty to our form of ot government of ot citizens citizens citizens citi citi- zens and aliens of ot school children and adults of ot all the peoples of all the races and creeds and nationalities which have been dumped into the great melting pot which is America Its It's all very important to us now But its it's well for us to remember on the occasion of the legIons legIon's twenty second anniversary that this organization of v veterans veterans' of the last war has been working along those lines IInes for a long time and and doing a mighty good job of it long before the rest of us were much interested They're still doing a good job Their Americanism AmerIcanism Amer- Amer program has been intensified so have their heir efforts to combat subversive elements fifth columnists and ism ism- propagandists so have their efforts in behalf of preparedness and national defense No other organization in the nation has been or is today in as favora favorable le a position as the legion to do this wor work The legion itself is a melting pot pot pot-a a section cross of America It is composed of men who know something about war who know something about preparedness and the cost of a l lack ck of it who know what real patriotism is many of whom having given personal proof of their knowledge on the field of battle battIe This twenty second birthday of the legion legions is s a good time on which to pay tribute to the American Legion and its efforts to build de de- fend tend and preserve this nation Our congratulations congratulations' ions to the men of the American Legion as today oday in Utah and tomorrow in the nation they celebrate their anniversary May they have many more birthdays on which equally glowing accounts of their accomplishments in behalf of America can be recorded |