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Show iCopy for ThlB Pepartmont Supplied by 'fe 1 1"1 the American Lcclon News St-rvio'.) -AS. ARIZONA CITIZENS ERECT LEGION HOSPITAL IN RECORD TIME I As) A A 1 ULiJ U M . 1 1 I i 1 i 1; No. 1. Part of Army of Volunteer Workmen, 5,000 Strong. No. 2. Governor Gov-ernor Campbell at Wheel of State Highway Truck, Hauling Material and Workmen. No. 3. Governor Campbell Wearing Overalls That Later Brought $200 for Post Park Red Cross Fund. No. 4. Left to Right: O. C. Parker, Mayor of Tucson; Bert H. Clingan, Commander Department of Arizona, American Amer-ican Legion; E. J. Winslett, National Vice Commander, American Legion. N0. 5. Dr. I. E. Huffman, Commander Legion Post at Tucson. A SPECTACLE believed to be almost al-most unique in American history and one that has given tremendous impetus to the nation-wide fight of the American Legion to obtain at least simple justice for sick and disabled dis-abled heroes of the World war, was staged In the thriving little desert city of Tucson, Ariz., recently. Led by Gov. Thomas E. Campbell and national, state and local representatives repre-sentatives of the Legion, the entire citizenry of the community brought every business activity to a standstill for a day while more than 5,000 men and women in overalls or othei" appropriate appro-priate working garb, drove their automobiles auto-mobiles to Pastime park, three miles north of the town, and labored with their hands to expedite construction of an emergency . public health service serv-ice hospital for tubercular ex-service men. Governor Campbell, E. J. Winslett, national vice commander of the Legion Le-gion ; State Commander Bert H. Clingan Clin-gan Mayor O. C. Parker and hundreds of other prominent business and professional1 pro-fessional1 men of the city and state appeared In real working clothes and .manipulated shovels, picks, hammers, saws and wheelbarrows in the greatest great-est frenzy of activity the community had ever known. The immediate re suit was that the emergency Institution Institu-tion which government engineers originally had estimated it would take three mouths to build, was brought to virtual completion within one week, and more than 500 tubercular derelicts dere-licts of the war who had been unhos-pitalized unhos-pitalized and partly shelterless, suddenly sud-denly found themselves with a roof over their heads The whole demonstration was planned and carried out within' a little lit-tle more than 4S hours, while Governor CamrJiell and State Legion Commander Comman-der Clingan made Dying trips from Phoenix to address a mass meeting under legion auspices at the armory on the evening preceding the park event, and to participate In the "heavy work" there next day. The chief executive of the commonwealth pushed a wheelbarrow full of rocks, drove an ex-army truck and wound up his strenuous afternocn with an Impassioned plea to Tucsonians and all good Americans to get together and stand squarely behind the legion in "the most important movement now starting here for the benefit of disabled dis-abled ex-service men that lias yet begun be-gun in the United States." At the conclusion of his address, the overalls the governor had worn (luring the afternoon, and which figured fig-ured conspicuously In several hundred feet of "movie" film unwound by a Pathe News camera man, were auctioned auc-tioned off to the highest bidder, the Morgan McDermott post of the legion at Tucson. Approximately $200 for the benefit of a welfare fund for patients pa-tients at the hospital was realized from the auction, each bidder being obliged to hand over the sum offered. Irrespective of whether It was high enough to get the clothes. The bid of tlve Legion Post was S70. The attention of F. W. Galbralth, Jr., the legion's national commander, was first attracted to the Tucson situation situ-ation after H. D. MacArtan, the public health service physician In charg& o the hospital, had gone to Washington and reported that more than half of the 12S patients then in the institution institu-tion were sleeping in condemned army tents, and that there were approximately ap-proximately 450 other tubercular ex-service ex-service men entirely unhospitaliztd in the community as a result of the congestion which followed the usual influx of "white plague" victims at this season of the year. These 450 men in dire need of the care and treatment treat-ment they were not receiving, were distributed through the community with such limited housing facilities and shelter from the extreme cold of the desert nights as their weary wanderings wan-derings happened to bring them. Commander Galbraith sent E. J. Winslett, national vice commander of the legion, and a representative of the American Legion News Service to Tucson Tuc-son to see what could be done to remedy the situation. Their instructions instruc-tions were to do all possible to speed up construction work, co-ordinate the efforts of all community interests and visualize the local situation as an ob-Vlect ob-Vlect lesson to thrust "under the nose of congress" in the legion's national fight for justice for the nation's heroes he-roes of two years ago and the legion's comrades then, now and always. Governor Campbell was in the East at the time and assisted Dr. MacArtan MacAr-tan in inducing Director Choraely Jones of the bureau of war risk insurance in-surance and other government officials to bring about the cutting of a vast amount of red tape. Dr. MacArtan finally returned to Tucson with authorization author-ization to spend approximately $300,-000 $300,-000 for the erection of an emergency hospital, and he brought with him George E. Kirk, a federal engineer to whom with his assistants much of the credit for the record-breaking completion com-pletion of the project is due. Governor Gover-nor Campbell placed state workmen, materials, trucks and tools at the disposal dis-posal of the government and there was from the beginning a hearty and enthusiastic co-operation on the part of the business and professional men of Tucson, as well as the citizens generally. gen-erally. Arriving at Tucson, Mr. Winslett surveyed the situation and then called a conference of legionnaires and state and municipal public officials and business men. At the conference be told of the legion's nation-wide fight, just beginning, begin-ning, to obtain justice for the derelicts coming back from the war and appealed ap-pealed to all organizations and agencies agen-cies to make a united stand for n square deal for those who offered their all to their country in time of need and have beco;ne victims of neglect,, neg-lect,, inefficiency, red tape and dereliction dere-liction of duty as their reward. The following day was proclaimed a holiday by Mayor Parker and every store, factory and business establishment establish-ment of every description closed its doors. In every sense, It was a red letter day In the history of Tucson, Arizona, and America, and an exemplification of the unity and unselfish co-operation which animated the whole nation during dur-ing the war and which rarely, if ever, lias been so conspicuously displayed in this country since the signing oi the armistice. |