But, outside the caucus, in the
hotel lobbies, and in the various committee rooms, whenever the
subject came up these soldier and sailor men, in almost every
instance, got mad--damn mad.
"The trouble with these people who talk Bolshevism is that they don't
know anything about our country," I heard one of them say.
Another quickly interrupted him with, "The big thing the Legion's got
to teach is Americanism and let those crack-brained fools know just
what this country stands for." While still another injected, "The
average 'long-beard' has been so crazed by persecution in Russia that
he would mistake Peacock Alley in the Waldorf-Astoria in New York for
a Siberian coal mine."
This last remark brought forth a laugh, and though it was whimsically
made it illuminated the matter under discussion very well, I thought.
In fact, the whole conversation made clear to me one of the
fundamental missions the Legion must perform.
The seeds of Americanism which Legion members sow to-day will be
reaped, not only to-day but in the generations of to-morrow. The
Soldiers and Sailors Council, Seattle, was thrown out and its
representative knew why. But, if Jack Sullivan and his red, white, and
blue colleagues in the State of Washington preach in the future what
they did at this caucus, the children of those northwestern Bolsheviki
will not only salute the Stars and Stripes, but will know _why_ they
do so.
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