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Show course of simple justice, the war veteran is entitled to such government services and aids as will enable him to overcome the physical and economic handicaps of military service. For this reason The American Legion has been since its founding in 1919 the champion of adequate care of disabled veterans, of government protection for war widows and orphans and dependent de-pendent parents of those who gave their all in the defense of America. It's summed up in Rehabilitation, Child Welfare, Americanism and National Security. During 1957 The American Legion won its battle in the 35th Congress for a 10 cost of living increase in the monthly compensation payments to more than 2,000,000 veterans with service-connected disabilities. It is continuing its 13-year legislative leg-islative fight during 1958 to make the widows and other sur-iving sur-iving dependents of World War II and of the Korean War ,'ligible to death pensions on the same basis provided by law or these of World War I. Another monumental contribution of The American Leg-ion to the national welfare was its sponsorship of the GI Bill A Rights for World War II veterans and its later Korean GI 3ill. These GI Bills have done more to raise the educational evel of America and to promote home ownership in the Unit-d Unit-d States than all other laws enacted by the Congress since he birth of this nation. More than 10 million veterans went :o college or to vocational schools under the GI Bills. More han 5,300,000 veterans were able to purchase their own homes .inder the GI Bill loan provisions at a time when most could lot have aspired to such ownership without this legislation. How many know the score on The American Legion's .jreat accomplishments in the field of Child Welfare? Its activities ac-tivities on this front have won The American Legion recognition recogni-tion as the leader throughout the land. During 1957 we spent 8,000,000 on needy children ; since 1925 this expenditure has .-eached $140,000,000. Most of this money went for food, clothing and medical treatment. And now the youth training orogram under the direction of the National Americanism Commission 16 million boys under 17 years of age have been graduated from American- Legion Junior Baseball ; more than jne million youths have graduated into good citizenship from the 4,300 Boy Scout troops sponsored by The American Legion Le-gion Posts. More than 400,000 high school juniors have learned about the obligations and responsibilities of citizenship and the functions of self-government through the annual American Ameri-can Legion Boys State and Boys Nation programs. The American Amer-ican Legion has made a massive contribution in developing champions and defenders of the U S Constitution and Bill of Rights ; more than four million boys and girls have participat-:d participat-:d in the annual national high school oratorical contests. More than 300,000 students participate annually in this nationwide competition in which they are required to prepare original jrations and some phases of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. The American Legion has been the foremost advocate of adequate national preparedness since its founding. American Legion Posts throughout the nation are preeminent in the field of community service. There are thousands of hometowns home-towns which are better places in which to live today because Amrican Legion Posts undertook the leadership needed. Time does not permit going into other details of American Legion contributions to America. But I do want every veteran vet-eran to keep in mind that it took the strength of organized veterans to' secure the legislation which benefits all fighting men and women and their dependents.. These benefits can be taken away from all veterans, unless they maintain a strong ORGANIZATION. That organization is THE AMERICAN LEGION. I say that America needs a strong American Legion Post in every community as a bulwark against infiltrating Communist Com-munist activities and as a champion of a dynamic conviction of Americanism for perpetuation of our free institutions of America. for God and Country . . . Legion Corner News and Notes S'fell' FOR AND ABOUT LEGIONNAIRES M$0& THE KING-SIZED AMERICAN LEGION An Address given by DEPARTMENT COMMANDER JOSEPH A. MANZIONE By any yardstick, The American Legion today is a king-sized king-sized organization. It gives me a great deal of pleasure to have this opportunity oppor-tunity to present to you a word picture of the dimensions of The American Legion. You all know what The American Legion is an organization organi-zation of veterans who served honorably in our last three great wars World War I, World War II, or the Korean War. The name "American Legion" is today a household word It is also a synonym for sturdy Americanism and courageous patriotism. Yet The American Legion presents a curious ' paradox. It is perhaps the best-publicized organization in the nation today. It is a fact that there is perhaps no other institution in America that is so well known locally, by name, by so many, as The American Legion. People know about The American Legion mostly through knowing about their hometown posts. But when it comes to knowing about the sum total of the doinsjs and accomplishments of more than 17,000 such hometown home-town posts, it is an altogether different story. It then becomes be-comes a case of an organization about which so little is known by so many as to its nationwide character and accomplishments. accomplish-ments. I am here to sketch for you a bird's-eye view of this astonishing aston-ishing vast sum total, to give you an inkling of the tremendous tremen-dous role played by The American Legion nationally, as a bul-work bul-work of our cherished free institutions. As a nationwide organization, The American Legion is truly a giant group. It is the largest veterans organization in the world. Its membership today is more than twice the enrollment en-rollment of all other veterans groups combined. It is in truth a king-sized organization. With more than 17,000 local posts. The American Legion can say today that there is scarcely a whistle-stop in the United Unit-ed States in which it isn't represented. Go where you will East, West, North or South and you will find that the typical typi-cal American community has its functioning American Legion post. You will find, too, especially in smaller cities and towns that the American Legion Post is the community center of patriotic, civic and in most cases, also its social activities. The best people of the community belong to the local American Legion Post. The people of these communities know The American Legion's good local works and they stand behind it. Nobody knows this better than the Members of the Congress! The membership ranks of The American Legion permeate all walks of American life with such endeavors, it can command com-mand the services, the talents and the energies of the recognized recog-nized top leaders in all fields. Let me tell you who some of these members are. The President of the United States, and the Vice President Presi-dent are Legionnaires. So are at least three members of the Cabinet, the Chief Justice and five Associate Justices of the U. S. Supreme Court. As of Jan. 1, 1958, there were 62 Legionnaires Le-gionnaires in the U. S. Senate (neither of our Senators are members) ; 241 in the House of Representatives (neither of our Utah Representatives are members). And there are 31 Governors of States who wear the American Legion button ; Governor Short of Missouri has a lifetime membership. Our Governor is not a member. The American Legion membership member-ship rolls include railroad presidents, industrialists, labor leaders, lead-ers, publishers, authors, columnists, commentators, radio, movie and television stars, top sports personalities, scientists, educators, clergymen, attorneys, doctors, farmers, mechanics, and clerks in fact an unusual percentage of the best-known Americans today is included in its ranks. The American Legion has a women's Auxiliary of one million members in 14,000 community units. Have you ever thought of the power that lies in one million women equipped with telephones? The American Legion has that power at its beck and call. The national organization of The American Legion is a big business operation. Its current budget is nearly $6,000,-000. $6,000,-000. It employs a full-time staff of nearly 500 persons, in Indianapolis, In-dianapolis, Washington, and New York City. The combined assets of The American Legion including national and local post levels are estimated at $300,000,000. Legionnaires since 1919 have paid in almost $200,000,000 in national dues alone. The American Legion Magazine has an average circulation of 2,800,000 in 1958, is 15th in size among national publications. There are more than 1,000 district, county, and post publications publica-tions within The American Legion. In its committee structure that blankets the United States The American Legion is the envy of many other national gioups. It has 12 basic national commissions, operating under these commissions are some 40 national boards and committees. commit-tees. This is paralleled on every state front and carries down r through the district and post levels. This provides a chain of command through which The American Legion can and does muster all its forces to any task. Now for what purposes does The American Legion use its tremendous nationwide organization? The American Legion uses all its splendid organization and strength to promote the interests of America and of the defenders of America! These go hand in hand. Puts high premium on patriotic service in the military forces during time of war; The American Legion has always contended this obli-gation obli-gation of special and hazardous service in time of war set the nation's defenders the men and women who wore the country's coun-try's uniform apart as a select class. The American Legion has always contended that as a |