The American Legion Magazine [Volume 84, No. 6 (June 1968)]

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The American

LEGIONMagazine

Contents for June 1968

THE STORY BEHIND OUR POLITICAL CONVENTIONS 6BY NEAL PEIRCE

The Story of how our political conventions developed over the last130 years, as an unofficial way to narrow down the number

of Presidential candidates on Election Day.

THE F-111 . . . OUR SCHIZOID AIRPLANE 12BY ROBERT IRELAN

The F-111, our military "plane of the future," can do fantastic things.But as the child of a shotgun wedding between Air Force andNavy, it has been and continues to be controversial. Here's

a close look at the plane and its split personality.

GEORGE WASHINGTON'S PRE REVOLUTIONARY FORT 17BY ALDEN STEVENS

A travel article for today's motorists on Fort Necessity, near Union-town, Pa., where 22-year-old George Washington unwittingly

started the French and Indian War. Forty-sixth in theseries "Seeing Historic America."

BASEBALL'S SECRET SIGN LANGUAGE 18BY JOHN DEVANEY

A sometimes amusing examination of baseball's on-the-fieldcommunications web that flashes signals and countersigns

around the diamond even in the quietest moments.

SHOULD THE U.S. GIVE A TAX CREDITFOR COLLEGE TUITIONS? 24

TWO SIDES OF A NATIONAL QUESTIONpro: sen. VANCE HARTKE (DEM-IND.)con: SEN. RUSSELL B. LONG (DEM-LA.)

A LOOK AT NEW ORLEANS, LA 26BY R. B. PITKIN

An inspection of old and new New Orleans, scene of the 50th AmericanLegion National Convention to be held there in September.

VIETNAM NEGOTIATIONS—NO GAMEFOR AMATEURS 32BY WILLIAM E. GALBRAITH, NATIONAL COMMANDER THE

AMERICAN LEGIONSecond guessing the government during Vietnam peace talks

is a dangerous game.

LEnERS TO THE EDITOR

DATELINE WASHINGTON .

EDITOR'S CORNER

BOOKS

Departments

2 VETERANS NEWSLETTER 33

4 NEWS OF THE AMERICAN LEGION 35

5 PERSONAL

23 LEGION SHOPPER 55

31 PARTING SHOTS 5R

ft=mn.^H ''I^; l'^'""'"'consideration will not be returned unless a self-addressedstamped envelope is included. This magazine assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material!

JUNE 1968

Volume S4, Number 6

CHANGE OF ADDRESS:Notify Circulation Dept., P. O. Box 1954,Indianapolis, Ind., 46206 using Post OfficeForm 3578. Attach old adilress label andgive old and new addresses with ZIP Codenumber and current mernhersiiip card number.-Also be sure to notify your Post Adjutant.

The American Legion MagazineEditorial & Advertising Offices

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EditorRobert B. I'itkin

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Associate Editors

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Assistant Art EditorWalter H. Boll

Production ManagerArt Bretzfield

Copy EditorGrail S. Hanford

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Advertising DirectorRobert P. Redden

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Advertising Sales RepresentativesJE Publishers Representive Co.

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The American LegionPublications Commission:

James E. Powers, Macon. Ga. (Chairman) i

Howard E. Lohman, Moorhead, Minn. (ViceChairman) ; Bob Whittemore, Watertoivn, S.D.(National Commander's Representative);Lang Armstrong, Spokane, Wash.; Charles E.Booth, Huntington, W. Va.; Adolph F.Bremer, Winona, Minn.; John Cicero, Swoyer.ville. Pa.; Clovis Copeland, Little Rock, Ark.;Raymond Fields, Guymon, Okla.; Chris Her-nandez, Savannah, Ga. ; Mylio S. Kraja,Youngstoum, Ohio; George D. Levy, Sumter,S.C.; Dr. Charles R. Logan, Keokuk, lotva;Frank C. Love, Syracuse, N.Y.; Morris Meyer,Starkville, Miss.; J. H. Morris, Baton Rouge,La.; Harry H. Schaffer, Pittsburgh, Pa.;Bradley J. Stephens, Los Altos, Calif.; WayneL. Talbert, Delphi, Ind.; J. Cornelius Tromp,Manhattan, III.; Benjamin B. Truskoski, Bris-tol, Conn.; Robert H. Wilder, Dadeville, Ala.;E. Meade Wilson, Mulberry, Fla.; EdwardMcSweeney. New York, N .Y., ( Consultant

)

The American Legion Magazine is publishedmonthly at 1100 West Broadway, Louisville,Ky. 40201 by The American Legion, Copyright1968 by The American Legion. Second-classpostage paid at Louisville, Ky. Price; singlecopy, 20 cents; yearly subscription, $2.00.Order nonmember subscriptions from the Cir-culation Department of The American Legion,P.O. Box 1954, Ind ianapolis, Ind. 46206.

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THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • JUNE 1968

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Letters published do not necessarily ex-press the policy oj The American Legion.Keep letters short. Name and address mustbe jurnished. Expressions of opinion andrequests for personal services are appreci-ated, but they cannot be acknowledged oranswered, due to lack of magazine staff forthese purposes. Requests for personal serv-ices which nxay be legitimately asked ofTlic American Legion should be made to

your Post Service Officer or your state

(Department) American Legion Hq. Sendletters to the editor to: Letters. TheAmerican Legion Magazine. 720 5th Ave-nue, New York, N.Y. 10019.

BRITAIN'S RETREAT FROM THE EASTSIR: It is not too soon for our State De-partment to begin watching, very, very

closely, political moves in the East, andone hopes that your article, "WhereDoes Britain's Retreat from the East

Leave Us?" (May), can serve as a re-

minder that we cannot afford to wait

until 1971, when Britain will complete

her withdrawal, to review the situa-

tion. One must be aware of the doors

that will be opened by Britain's deci-

sion. Recently, Russia's Premier Kosy-gin paid a visit to Iran, the first Soviet

head to do so since Stalin was there for

the WW2 meeting with Roosevelt andChurchill. Iran, of course, borders the

Persian Gulf, and is the single geogra-

phical wedge that lies between Russia

and the Gulf, affording a gateway, which

Russia has long desired, to the Indian

Ocean. We know of the Shah of Iran's

close friendship with the West, but,

nevertheless, in view of Britain's depar-ture from the Gulf area, we must not

underestimate the probable political

significance behind Kosygin's appear-

ance in Teheran.Ronald W. Dietrich

Washington, D.C.

HUMAN PITFALL

sir: Under "People and Quotes" in yourDateline Washington feature for May,you attribute a quote, entitled "Com-puter Pitfall," to Rep. Cornelius E.

Gallagher, but give his state as NewHampshire. Representative Gallagher is

from New Jersey (13th District).

Barney SwiftEnglewood, N.J.

Our source said New Hampshire, but

New Jersey is right. Apologies to Repre-

sentative Gallagher and New Jersey.

RED CROSS CLOSE-UPsir: To paraphrase the subtitle of "TheRed Cross in Flood and War" (April),

you certainly "did good" for us.

We're deeply indebted to you and your

staff and Mr. Mahoney for this fine story.

It's one of the best and most compre-hensive Red Cross articles I've ever seen.

It will make a great hit throughout the

entire organization.

James F. Collins, General, USA (Ret.)

President, American National Red Cross

Washington, D.C.

TIME FOR A SECOND LOOKSIR: Thomas Hoge's article, "A SecondLook at the UN" (April), is the mostinteresting article on the world organ-ization that has been brought to my at-

tention. Congratulations to you and the

author.

C. C. MOSELEYBeverly Hills, Calif.

sir: As Mr. Hoge points out in his secondlook at the United Nations, while Russia

and France are in arrears to the total

whopping sum of $78 million, nothing

has been done to enforce Article 19 of

the UN Charter, which the U.S. sup-

ported and which would deny these twocountries their vote. Recently, six mem-bers—the Congo, Haiti, Dahomey, Do-minican Republic, Mali and Paraguay

—

more than two years behind in their

payments were barred from UN voting.

The total arrears of these six hardly

wealthy nations amount to a bit over

$146,000. As Mr. Hoge said, the UN bul-

lies little guys, but not big guys. Today,

while the world's people seek equality

and equity, we see here another instance

of an inequitable decision reached bythe world organization.

Gerald S. HolmesAtlanta, Ga.

NO TIME FOR SECOND-GUESSINGSIR: Negotiations with North Vietnamand the Viet Cong, if they come off, will

be both difficult and delicate. No citizen,

outside of the government which wehave elected, is competent to judge the

details of the arrangements as they pro-

ceed. Yet we already hear TV broad-

casters, office-seekers and others getting

to work second-guessing the President

step-by-step, even taking the enemy's

position, as the delicate maneuveringbegins. In my opinion, the broadcasters

do it to show off their fancied superiority

over the government in affairs in which

they never had any responsibility, and in

which their interest is to increase their

audience ratings; while the politicians

do it for the sorriest of all motives—hope

of personal advancement. This is no time

for persons or corporations seeking per-

sonal aggrandizement to do further dam-age to the country by sticking their

amateurish noses into grave affairs

which they hardly comprehend.Jason Y. MaltherneLos Angeles, Calij.

THE CRISIS IN MONEYsir: "What's Happening To Money" is

the first simple, understandable article I

have read that explains this aspect of

our financial position in world and local

affairs.

Frank A. BremerDes Plaines, 111.

General Curtis LeMaybegins his

toughest battle.

It should be your fight, too.

General Curtis LeMay, the first commander-in-chief of SAC, is fighting to save

America from itself. From its phony "experts." From its "defense intellectuals." And

from its "false prophets who are deceiving America."

Gen. LeMay begins his fight with a slashing, startling new book, America Is In

Danger. Here, for the first time, he tells the blunt truth about the shocking deteriora-

tion of U.S. military defenses.

Gen. LeMay says we stand nakedly exposed to attack. He says our government's

claims of nuclear superiority are exaggerated and misleading. He says we have

permitted our general war capability to rust. He tells how this has happened-and

what we should do about it.

This is a book you must read now. Its facts must be known. Circulated. Discussed.

Because now, more than ever before, p— —_ — —America is in danger. I Dept. AM, Funk & Wagnalls

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sir: "What's Happening To Money"(March) is the best thing I have everseen printed that explains the subjectso that the man in the street can under-stand what it is all about. I wish every-one could have the opportunity to readit.

J. W. FreyermuthClaremont, Calif.

sir: The article is the best I've seen onthe gold issue.

Ernest SewellBartlesville, Okla.

sir: I would like 50 reprints of the ar-ticle for distribution to my students in

International Trade.

Irving M. SchorThe City University of New York

New York, N.Y.

STRATEGY IN THE AMERICANREVOLUTION

sir: John Clagett's article, "The Mili-tary Strategy of the American Revolu-tion" (March), was excellent. We needthis kind of inspiring documentationfrom time to time in order to reacquaintourselves with events that make up ourheritage.

L. H. MappesAuburn, N.Y.

sir: Mr. Clagett's article, with its ac-companying map, did more to clarify andinform than any I have ever read on theAmerican Revolution.

E. A. EvansMendham, N.J.

sir: The American Revolution article

was fine. Clear, concise, well-plannedand executed, there isn't a redundantword in it. The illustrations and maphad much to do with its excellence.

A. Porter S. SweetFairport, N.Y.

GENERAL HANFORD MacNIDERsir: I regret to note in the April issuethe passing of General Hanford Mac-Nider, past National Commander (1921-

22) of The American Legion.

As a member of the 158th RegimentalCombat Team, I knew him well as acapable leader and as a very fine indi-vidual. He was a pleasant, friendly manwho knew many of the men in the ranksby their first names but never lost con-trol of his position by his democratic be-havior.

He always liked to drive his own jeep,so the driver assigned to him usuallyaccepted and occupied the role of pas-senger. He was in the forefront of thefight at Cuenca and the Balayan river inthe Philippines. He was a field soldierin every sense.

Ken WilliamsMontebello, Calif.

FAVORS PRO AND CONsir: I would like to commend you for theproduction of a fine magazine.The April issue was outstanding, and

the Pro & Con feature, "Should the U.S.

Switch to a Volimteer Army?", whichpresented two sides of the question bytwo Congressmen, was excellent. I hopeyou will continue this kind of presenta-tion indefinitely and cover as manyquestions of national importance as pos-sible. For example, I would certainlylike to read both sides of the questionof whether we should be trading withCommunist nations. I hope you will pub-lish two Congressmen's opinions on this

most vital issue.

Mrs. Arden DruceCanoga Park, Calif.

The Pro & Con feature has been ap-pearing here since April 1957. Two ques-tions on Red trade have been presented:Should the United States Ban All Tradewith Communist Countries? (Sept.1962) and Should We Expand Tradewith Soviet Bloc Nations? (July 1965).

EXTOLS VA HOSPITAL CARESIR: My brother, who passed away re-cently, had been confined to the localVeterans Hospital for the past 11 years,and I would like to say that I am trulygrateful for the treatment he receivedthere during those long years of con-finement.

I cannot praise too highly the class ofservice that this hospital gives to its

patients, all of whom, of course, are vet-erans of our wars.

My brother was given constant atten-tion, although his ailment was terminal.His life there was made as endurableas human endeavor could make it. Bothmy wife and I wish to thank everyoneconcerned for the excellent care andhumanitarian concern shown—almost ona personal basis—in spite of the morethan 600 other patients in this excellentinstitution.

Frank SiroyRoseburg, Ore.

A FRENCH WAR VETERAN WRITESsir: France and the French people havenot forgotten the sacrifices of the hun-dreds and thousands of American sol-diers killed in liberating France and Eu-rope.

We know that if we live in a freecountry today it is because of the aidprovided to us by your country duringthe last two world wars.

We are following day by day yourfight in Vietnam, where once more youare bringing help to a nation whichwishes, at all costs, to remain free, forwe know that deep down you fight forthe free world and democracy.The differences in viewpoints and cer-

tain cooling of relations between ourgovernments occur today for reasonswhich we cannot understand. We canassure you that the hearts of the greatmajority of the French people remainand will always remain faithful to thefriendship of the two countries.

I am taking the liberty of writing this

so that our feelings might be madeknown at a time when some Americansmight distrust us.

Bertrand PaulSaint-Just (Ain), France

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DATELINE WASHINGTON

RUSSIAN SEA POWER.

FOOD FOR FREEDOM.

GRAND TOUR OF SPACE.

The Russians are coming up fast as a global sea power—too fast in the opinion of some Washington militaryobservers .

A naval construction program has increased Soviet

tonnage afloat from 1.5 million tons to 10 million tons

in eight years . The emphasis is only partially on

combat fleets such as the one now making its presencefelt in the Mediterranean. Oceangoing fishing trawlers,

equipped with electronic snooping devices, have stepped

up activities, even cutting heavily into Americancatches off New England.

U.S. experts see the move as a breaking out of the

old Stalinist continental shell. They believe the Red

naval expansion could lead into: (1) a balance withWestern naval forces that would remove Soviet insecurityand suspicion, and thus a greater political andeconomic responsibility to world order; or (2) an

equal power position that would permit greater risksin probing various world issues for Western weakness.An example of the latter, considered more likely, is

Yemen, where the Soviets are attempting to take ad-vantage of the British pullout while the United Statesis bogged down in Southeast Asia.

There are s ome in the nation' s capital—headed byPresident Johnson—who are particularly proud of thelittle-known Food for Freedom program, which lastyear alone dispatched 15 million metric tons of food"to wage war on hunger—the equivalent of ten poundsof food for every member of the human race.U.S. food aid, according to the President's report,

has helped Israel, Taiwan, the Philippines and Koreabuild a solid record of economic achievement. Alto-gether 39 countries accepted our food aid, whileundertaking a program of agricultural self-help.

The President revealed that Food for Freedom alsoencourages world trade in farm products, which reachedan all time high of nearly $40 billion in 1967, therebystimulating U.S. agricultural exports too.

It ' s true that the U. S. public, after ten years of

space thrills, today takes moon probes and the likeas a matter of routine. But if Congress will continueto provide sufficient funds—a presently dwindling if

—y^_S^ scientists are planning new, spectacular astrofeats over the next decade. One project recentlypresented to a special space forum here looks to asingle spacecraft taking off on a grand tour to Jupiter,Saturn, Uranus and Neptiine, a 2.8 billion-mile triprequiring only nine years with a gravitational assisttechnique as against 30 years for a direct-flightmission.

Space projects, however, cost vast sums and pressurehas been rising in Congress to cut space spending.Budget reductions have already been applied so thattoday there are only some 270,000 workers involved inthe space research industry, against 420,000 in 1966.

PEOPLE AND QUOTES

ON PEACE

"But wanting peace, prayingfoi peace, desiring peace, as

Chamberlain found out, doesn't

always give you peace." Presi-

dent Johnson,

INDEPENDENT VOTER"Right now the key to politi-

cal success is the independent

voter, growing in numbers andgrowing in disillusionment withboth parties . .

." Sen. ThrustonB. Morton, (R-Ky.)

TELL CUSTOMERS".

. . business has an obliga-

tion to explain, educate and in-

form consumers about the

levels of price and how they

are established." Lee S. Bick-

more, President, National Bis-

cuit Co.

WHOSE POOR?"As businessmen, we cannot

isolate ourselves from poverty,

or pretend the poor are the

stepchildren of Government . . .

The responsibility of business

to bear its burden is clear andimmediate." Roy D. Chapin, Jr.,

Chairman, American MotorsCorp.

WIN OR ELSE

"There are two types of

(baseball) managers—winningmanagers and ex-managers."

Gil Hodges, manager of NewYork Mets.

MAN VS. MOON"If the lot of millions of

Americans is more important

than putting a man on the moonin this decade, let us invest

more in people than in space."

Michigan Gov. George Romney.

OBLIGATION TO CONSTRUCT,TOO

"The rebel who overturns

society's conventions must take

on the corresponding obligation

to construct new and better

conventions in their place."

N.Y. Mayor John Lindsay.

4 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • JUNE 1968

EDITOR'SHBHHH CORNER

WHAT IS LEADERSHIP?

THE New York Times editorial staff has

a basic belief that war veterans are ene-

mies of the country. It opposes Cabinet

rank for the Veterans Administration for

fear that a Secretary of Veterans Affairs

might be responsive to the needs and prob-

lems of veterans as other Cabinet officers

are responsive to their areas of interest.

The Times states that the veterans pro-

gram is now the fifth ranking national pro-

gram, and estimates that 50% of the popu-

lation will soon be members of veterans

families.

To us, that seems an overriding argu-

ment for Cabinet rank. The Times' view

appears to be, however, that these 50%are the bad guys, our worst citizens. Theyare not entitled to representation, but op-

position. So instead of Cabinet rank for

vets affairs, the Times proposes a master

board to sit over veterans affairs, whosestated mission would be to protect the

country from the war veterans.

Pursuing this thesis further, the Timesopposes creation of a Senate Veterans Af-

fairs Committee, out of a fear that this

would make the Senate defenseless against

our internal enemies, the nation's wartime

defenders.

All of this in an April 23 editorial in

the Times attacking the report of the

President's Veterans Advisory Commis-sion (see "Veterans Newsletter," this is-

sue.) The Times complains that the Com-mission was loaded with those people

around the country who are most experi-

enced in veterans affairs, and that its views

thus represent their "grasping philoso-

phy."

The Times' attack on the President'sCommission as biased is surprising, in

view of earlier events. The Times hadpublished a similar editorial on June 18,

1967, prejudicing the Commission whenit was first created by the President, andbefore it had done its work. On reading it,

Robert M. McCurdy (chairman of the

Presidential Commission, former assistant

city manager of Pasadena, Calif., a mem-ber of California's state pharmaceutical

board, and long the Legion's Rehabilita-

tion chairman) turned the other cheek

and courteously invited the Times by let-

ter to send a representative to a session

of the President's Commission to give it

the full benefit of the Times' view on vet-

erans affairs.

The first invitation went to the Execu-

tive Editor of the Times last June 27. Mr.McCurdy offered to set up a special meet-

ing at the Times' convenience if the Timescouldn't get anyone to scheduled meetings

in Washington, Philadelphia or elsewhere.

He expressly told the Times that the Com-mission wanted to get views from as broada cross section of interests as possible.

The letter was acknowledged with an

excuse for lack of immediate acceptance.

When no more was heard, McCurdy ex-

tended a second invitation. The last meet-

ing of the Commission was held in Wash-ington on Oct. 2. The Times sent no rep-

resentative, and no answer was received

to the second invitation.

We do not know what to make of an

institution such as the Times when it de-

clines an invitation to participate in the

work of a Presidential Commission, ig-

nores a plea of the Commission to help

it hear all possible views, and then enters

the scene later hurling charges of bias at

such a Commission. This is certainly not

in the tradition of American leadership.

CORRECTION, AMPLIFICATION &DEVILS

INCASE YOU don't know it, there is a

special little devil that hangs over au-

thors, editors and publishers who sees to

it that if a little error goes through, it

may not be just a little error, it may some-

how give an unwanted new meaning. Ex-

ample: several thousand years ago (it

seems) when we helped edit our high

school year book, two letters in a girl's

name were transposed at the typesetters.

Did it come out as just a garble? It did

not. Louise became Lousie. Now we are a

bit sick that four errors sneaked into Prof.

John Clagett's great story on the "Strategy

of the American Revolution" in our

March issue. The little devil got his hands

on two of them. South Carolina's great pa-

triot, Thomas Sumter, was twisted on the

way to the press to come out "Sumner."

Well, of course you know that in the Civil

War, South Carolina led off by besieging

the fort named for Sumter. "Sumter" wasa name that stood as a symbol of Confed-

erate aspirations. But who was Sumner?Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts, wasthe firebrand of the Abolitionists in the

Senate, whose speeches against the South

so inflamed Preston Brooks of South Caro-

lina that he beat Sumner senseless in the

Senate one day. Please, little devil, won't

you lay off? A Carolinian would probably

settle for any misspelling of Sumter ex-

cept Sumner. Ditto Massachutans.

In the same line, Pickens becameDickens, again in the proofing process.

Like Sumter, Andrew Pickens was oneof the great partisan leaders of the co-

lonial forces in South Carolina, along

with Francis Marion, the Swamp Fox.

They often fought with no ammunition,

harassing the British as best they could.

Why, oh devil, does an error in Pickens'

name make him a distinguished British

author? Robert Wise, of Columbia, S.C.,

writes that the graves of all three are well

maintained but there's local controversy

over Marion's burial place, which is in a

pasture near Marion, S.C., with no public

right of way to it. The D.A.R. has been

trying to get a right of way to it.

The time of the Battle of Hubbardtonwas a little off in the article, and (woe is

us) Yorktown, Va., was moved a few

miles south to the banks of the JamesRiver (it's really on the York). Corn-

wallis actually moved down the James at-

tempting to contact the British fleet, but

when he got stuck on the cape between

the two rivers he fortified himself at York-town on the York, without moving it over

to the James. rbp

dhelMzf^pe dbbacco

Lights easy-

lakes its own good time

about burning.

Bond Street doesn't rush you.

Given a good stream, you cancatch four or five fat trout v^hile

just one pipeful is burning its

slow and lazy v^ây to the bottomof the bowl. All during the smoke,you'll enjoy the gentle taste (and

don't be too surprised if a passing

sportsman has a complimentaryword about Bond Street's pleas-

ant aroma).

Bond Street burns slow becauseit has a combination of plugs andflakes, for smooth and steadyburning. If you're not in too muchof a hurry, go to Bond Street. Andtaste what you've been missing.

THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINF^ • JUNE 1968 5

The Story Behind OurThe tale of how our political conventions began and grew, as an unofficial way\

RETTMANN ARrillVE

By NEAL PEIRCE

THE Constitution makes no pro-

vision for national political con-

ventions. No federal law decrees

that they shall be held, or seeks to regu-

late them. They sprang up as the step-

children of political necessity some 135

years ago, and have become a permanentpart of our political landscape.

"As American as corn pone or apple

pie" is the way historian Carl Becker

summed up the national nominating con-

ventions. Once a Republican or Demo-cratic national convention gets going,

Becker observed, it "emits sounds andlights that never were on land or sea.

At dilTerent hours of the day or night,

it has something of the painted and tin-

selled and tired gaiety of a four-ring cir-

cus, something of the juvenile inebriety

and synthetic fraternal sentiment of a

class reunion, something of the tub-

thumping frenzy of a backwoods meet-

ing."

Underneath all this hurly-burly that

virtually every American now gets to

see on TV, there unfolds a deadly seri-

ous and important drama. The favorite

sons, front runners, caucuses, credentials

and platform disputes, bandwagons and

stampedes, smoke-filled rooms and dark

horses—all have evolved as part of the

mysterious mechanism by which a great

national party determines its own course

for the next years, and, should it be vic-

torious in the autumn election, the course

of the nation.

The men who wrote the AmericanConstitution would be amazed if they

could see a Presidential nominating con-

vention of the 20th century. They never

dreamed of strong political parties as weknow them. Thus they never thought to

make provision in the Constitution for

any kind of convention nominating pro-

cedure.

As they met to write the Constitution

in Philadelphia during the summer of

1787, the Founding Fathers assumedthat Gen. George Washington would be

the virtually unanimous choice of his

countrymen as the first President. After

that, they thought various would-bePresidents would arise in the various

states and regions, but probably not with

strong national support in the first in-

6 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • JUN

Chicago has had most conventions. (L.)

stance. So they provided for the selection

in the individual states of Presidential

"electors"—a mere handful of men to

suggest candidates for the Presidency

and perhaps sometimes elect them.

In most elections, the FoundingFathers thought, there would be no ma-jority choice among the Presidential

electors. In that event, they provided

that the House of Representatives wouldchoose the President from the leading

electoral-vote recipients. As James Madi-

son put it, the expectation was that the

E 1968

Republican convention there that named Garfield

j

electoral college (as it came to be called)

would nominate the candidates for

President, and the House would makethe final decision. j

But the system developed quite differ-

ently. Instead of serving as nominatorsj

of various Presidential candidates, the

Presidential electors, chosen by popular

vote of the people, ended up as the

agents by which the people made the

final choice—usually simply to do as

they were told by the voters.

By the end of Washington's two terms

Political Conventionsto narrow down the Presidential candidates on Election Day,

BROWN EROS.

1880. (R.), a scene when the Democrats nominated F. D. Roosevelt for 4th term in 1944.

in office, strong political parties had al-

ready emerged. They, in effect, took over

the function of nominating men for the

Presidency. At first they did this throughprivate meetings (caucuses) of party

members in Congress. But "King Cau-cus," as its opponents derisively called

it, was attacked in the 1820's as an un-

democratic institution permitting rule bypowerful cliques in Congress, regard-

less of the will of the people. By the elec-

tion of 1824, King Caucus was thor-

oughly discredited. The field of Presi-

dential candidates was so scattered that

the election ended up in the House. Asa temporary expedient in the next elec-

tion, that of 1828, the nomination of

Presidential candidates was done instead

by an irregular combination of legis-

latures, public meetings and local con-

ventions throughout the Union.

By the early 1830's, the time was ripe

for the national nominating convention

to make its appearance. One key factor

was the development of a national net-

work of railroad connections, making

possible the type of mass national gather-

ing that was scarcely thinkable in stage-

coach days. Two short-lived parties—the

Anti-Masons and National Republicans

(no relation to the modern Republicans)

actually held the first nominating con-

ventions in 1831. Then, in May 1832,

the Democratic Party held its first nomi-

nating convention in Baltimore, select-

ing Andrew Jackson for a second term

as President.

Without interruption, the Democratshave held a Presidential nominating con-

vention every four years since. Their con-

vention opening this August 26 in

Chicago will be the 35th in the party's

history. The roll of past Democratic con-

ventions includes such historic gather-

ings as the 1896 convention in Chicago,

which nominated William Jennings

Bryan after his famed "Cross of Gold"

speech; the 1912 convention in Balti-

more, which took 42 ballots to nominate

Woodrow Wilson for the Presidency; and

the 1932 Chicago convention, which se-

lected Franklin D. Roosevelt in the first

of his four successful races for the Presi-

dency.

As for the Republican Party we knowtoday, it held its first nominating con-

vention in Philadelphia in 1856, propos-

ing John C. Fremont for the Presidency.

The Republicans' second convention, in

Chicago four years later, nominated

Abraham Lincoln, the Illinois country

lawyer and former Congressman whowould rank with Washington amongthe greatest of American Presidents.

When they assemble August 5 of this

year in Miami Beach, the Republicans

will be meeting for their 29th consecutive

national convention.

Over the years, Chicago has capital-

ized on its location as the great rail

terminus of the continental United States

to host more Presidential nominating

conventions than any other city—ten

Democratic and 14 Republican conven-

tions. It was in Chicago in 1952 that

Republicans nominated their only suc-

cessful Presidential nominee of the past

four decades, Dwight D. Eisenhower.

Chicago made a bid for this year's Re-

publican convention but lost out to Mi-

ami Beach. The jet plane has demoted

the rail center to the level of any city

with hotels and an auditorium to suit.

The national committees of the two

parties choose the convention city. They

look not only for the large hall and hotel

rooms, but for a favorable political cli-


CONTINUED The Story Behind Our Political ConventionsBROWN HROS. MARYLAND HISTORICAL SOClp;TY

In 1832, Democrats held the first national political convention (in Baltimore's OldAthenaeum, above) and nominated Andrew Jackson (left) for a second term.

THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE •

mate and a hard cash oflfer to induce the

party to pick the city. Chicago and Mi-

ami Beach both offered the Republicans

$800,000 this year, but the Republicans

decided to go to Miami Beach because

of larger convention hall facilities. (It

will be the first national nominating con-

vention ever held in Florida.)

The Democrats picked Chicago. Afire in 1967 destroyed Chicago's newconvention hall, McCormick Place, so

the Democrats will have to meet in the

old but newly refurbished Chicago Am-phitheater, located beside the stock-

yards. Chicago offered the Democrats

$750,000 in cash and an additional

$150,000 in services, along with assur-

ances that decentralization of the meatslaughtering industry had cut down on

the aromas around the stockyards.

For all their excitement and color, na-

tional conventions have been assailed

as an undemocratic, awkward spectacle.

Two conventions of the 1920's seemed to

prove that point—the Republicans' 1920

convention in Chicago and the Demo-crats" 1924 gathering in New York.

Four months before the 1920 Republi-

can convention, Harry Daugherty of

Ohio made an uncanny prediction.

"There will be no nomination on the

early ballots," Daugherty told a reporter.

"After the other candidates have failed,

after they have gone their limit, the lead-

ers, worn out and wishing to do the very

best thing, will get together in some hotel

room about 2:11 in the morning. Somefifteen men, bleary-eyed with lack of

sleep, and perspiring profusely with the

excessive heat, will sit down around a

big table. I will be with them and will

present the name of Senator Warren

Harding. When the time comes, Harding

will be selected, because he fits in per-

fectly with every need of the party and

nation. He is the logical choice, and the

leaders will determine to throw their

support to him."

JUNE 1968

True to Daugherty's prediction, the

Chicago convention deadlocked on the

early ballots between the two front-run-

ers. Gov. Frank Lowden of Illinois andGen. Leonard Wood of New York. Low-den and Wood went for a half-hour auto-

mobile ride to discuss the situation, but

neither was willing to step down. A cabal

of United States Senators did meet in

the famed "smoke-filled room," number404 at the Blackstone Hotel, and picked

Harding. On the 10th ballot, the tide

turned and Harding became the party's

nominee. Harding went on to win the

Presidency, but the Teapot Dome scan-

dal darkened his administration and he

died in office three years later, to catapult

Vice President Calvin Coolidge to the

White House.

But is the "smoke-filled room" any

worse than a prolonged deadlock on the

convention floor? In 1924, the Demo-cratic keynote speaker, Sen. Pat Harrison

of Mississippi, predicted, "This conven-

tion will be no cold-storage affair; it will

be red hot." Harrison was right. Thedelegates met June 24 and stayed in ses-

sion until July 10, casting an incredible

103 ballots for the Presidential nomina-

tion. It was the longest party convention

in our history. Prohibition, the League

of Nations and the Ku Klux Klan were

hot issues. Drys and some Ku Klux Klan

factions backed William Gibbs McAdooin opposition to the favorite of the Wets

and anti-Klan groups, New York's Gov.

Alfred E. Smith. A conservative corpora-

tion lawyer, John W. Davis, emerged as

the compromise choice after 14 days.

During the long 1924 harangue at Madi-

son Square Garden, one delegation leader

is said to have told his people to con-

sider "moving toward a more liberal

candidate or a cheaper hotel." The Dem-ocrats so wounded themselves in the pub-

lic eye that they were unable to capitalize

on the Harding scandals in the ensuing

campaign.

The Republican national convention in session in Chicago in May 1860. Lincoln,

whose photo above was taken a few days later, was nominated on the third ballot.

Both the smoke-filled room and the

protracted convention deadlock have

gone out of style in recent years. Onereason may be the growing importance

of Presidential primaries, which often

create an overwhelming favorite before

the convention meets. Another reason is

television, which creates great pressures

on the delegates to get about their busi-

ness expeditiously.

But with the exceptions of the pri-

EROWN BROS./BETTMANN ARCHIVE

maries and pressures of television, little

has happened since the 1830's to change

the structure of how the delegates are

picked and how the conventions operate.

The individual states and their party

committees decide how they will select

delegates to the national conventions.

They have come up with an astonishing

variety of ways to cope with the problem.

In 15 states there are full-fledged Presi-

dential primaries, but in some of these,

The Progressive (or Bull Moose) Party chose its founder, Theodore Roosevelt, in

Chicago in 1912. Action split the Republicans, elected Democrat Wilson.

THE AM

the delegates chosen are not bound to

vote for the winner of the preferential

primary vote for President. In somestates, the delegates run pledged to a

favorite son candidate, so that they are

really free to vote for whomever they

please after a courtesy vote for the fa-

vorite son at the convention. This year,

for instance, 535 of the 1,333 delegates

to the Republican National Conventionwill be elected directly in the primaries,

but only 218 of those can be legally

bound in the primary to vote a certain

way at the convention. And many will

be pledged only to favorite sons. Theprimaries may influence, but will in nosense force the convention's choice.

The most popular way of choosing

delegates is at state party conventions or

committee meetings—a method followed

in 35 states. At times, individual party

members can exert influence on these

state conventions through local caucuses.

But for the most part, the machinery is

in the hands of the party regulars.

Some find it hard to believe that a

popular Presidential candidate can really

emerge from such a confusing selection

process—especially with the delegate

lists packed with party regulars. This re-

quires an assumption that they won't go

for a popular candidate. But the na-

tional conventions—and the delegates

which comprise them—offer more than

meets the eye.

Even if delegates are known for their

loyalty to their party, they are a lot of

other things too. The delegate rosters in-

clude lawyers and union chiefs, big-city

bankers and small-town merchants, civic

minded matrons and hardened ward

leaders. Governors and Congressmen,

state legislators and local party chair-

men, professors and political hacks,

whites and blacks—a roster as varied as

America itself. These men and womenknow their country and its mood. Andthey have one great overriding interest

that binds them together: winning the

Presidential election for their party.

Through the maneuvers, the compro-

mises, the bargains and deals of a na-

tional convention emerges a party plat-

form that most of its members can at least

live with. With rare exceptions, the dele-

gates go on to select a Presidential nomi-

nee who will have a wide appeal to the

entire country. In politics, the point of

the game is to win—a point politicians

rarely forget.

When the parties have strayed from

this very practical course, they have had

their fingers burned. The most dramatic

example of recent years, of course, was

the Republicans' 1964 choice of Sen.

Barry Goldwater, a man popular with

the party workers but at the bottom of

most public opinion polls The result was

ERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • JUNE 1968 9

CONTINUED The Story Behind Our PoHtical Conventions

a crushing defeat for the party in the

general election.

As the population of the United States

has spiralled upwards, so has the size of

the delegate rosters to the national con-

ventions. Especially on the Democraticside, the delegations have been getting

bigger and bigger, simply because the

Democratic National Committee likes

to reward states loyal to the party with

more delegates, but doesn't want to re-

duce the size of the delegations from any

allows certain basic representation for

the state and then bestows bonus seats to

the states with a big vote for the party's

Presidential candidate in the last elec-

tion or high numbers of officeholders of

the party.

It is interesting to note that AmericanLegion conventions are in this class too.

They have often exceeded 6,000 dele-

gates and alternates—greater than either

party.

So much of a national nominating con-

ll;iniiijiiiiiii:i|^ HOME

DEL[E1ITES)1I1[^«'^» -^Pe-eA Clear,

mmiU] Candid, Says Bryan

SECRET NlNG:r

OPNEBimSKIlN::?

OELEOITES

Hanhaltan Club C«fttirtfl«t,

CtIM in Corn

Urnay Put In Hominalion

Longest convention was the Democrats' meeting in New York in 1924. For 14 days dele-

gates wrangled. After 102 ballots, Davis and Bryan were named to head the ticket.

other states in the process. When they

meet in Chicago this summer, the Demo-crats will have an all-time record of 5.61

1

oflficial participants—2,989 regular dele-

gates, 2,512 alternates, plus all 1 10 mem-bers of the Democratic National Com-mittee. The Democratic total of 5,611

this year contrasts to a delegate and al-

ternate roll of only 2,888 persons 20

years ago.

As for the Republicans, their conven-

tions have also increased in size, though

a bit less spectacularly. The Miami Beachconvention will have 1.333 delegates and

1,333 alternates—a total of 2,666. Bycontrast, there were 2,188 delegates andalternates to the Republicans' 1948 con-

vention in Philadelphia. Each party ap-

portions delegates to the various states

on a complicated formula which first

XO THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • J

vention is "show business"—from street

parades and hotel lobby hoopla to dem-onstrations on the convention floor

—

that it is easy to lose sight of the crucial

struggle for power that is going on. But

there are certain key developments

which reveal which way the political

winds are blowing.

A first and vital sign comes months

in advance of the convention, when the

national party committees begin to makedecisions about the men who will con-

trol the real positions of power at the

conventions—the chairman of the Reso-

lutions Committee (which will write the

party platform), the chairman of the

Credentials Committee (which will de-

cide delegate contests), and, perhaps

most important of all, the permanent

chairman of the convention itself.

UNE 1968

If the party currently controls the

Presidency, these choices will—in effect

—be made by the President himself, im-

plemented by the party's national com-mittee which he controls. In the party

out of power, the choice of key conven-tion officers often involves struggles be-

tween factions allied with different Presi-

dential candidates. This year we see the

beginnings of such a struggle in the party

in power, and it is a rarity.

A convention appears to get under waywith key committee meetings a week be-

fore the gavel falls to open the first for-

mal session. While the various would-bePresidential candidates are jockeying

for support among uncommitted dele-

gations, the important committees hold

their first official sessions in downtownhotels in the convention city.

Attention is likely to be centered first

on the hearings of the Resolutions (Plat-

form) Committee. Various pressure

groups appear to present their points of

view on defense, urban problems, civil

rights, law enforcement—all the key

problems facing the nation. It's morethan likely, however, that a fairly firm

draft of the party platform will already

have been drawn up by the platform

chairman and his close associates, even

before they reach the convention city.

Platform texts may be modified as a

result of the official hearings, and of

course lively fights may then break out

between members of the platform com-mittee when they get down to the busi-

ness of approving the individual planks.

Cynics sometimes say that platforms

count for little in future years. The late

Wendell Willkie called them "fusions of

ambiguity." But the party's enemies will

remind the country when a party fails

to live up to its promises.

Sometimes the writing of a platform

can spark lively fights within a party.

In 1960, when Vice President Richard

Nixon had virtually no opposition for

his party's nomination, he felt that he

needed the full support of the party lib-

erals allied with New York's Governor

Nelson A. Rockefeller. The platform

writers in Chicago, working under

Charles H. Percy, thought they had the

platform in final shape, but, on Friday

night before the convention, Nixon

made a trip to New York to discuss

the platform with Rockefeller. There,

Nixon agreed to some liberalizing planks

in the platform and Percy was instructed

to have them entered. The episode an-

gered party conservatives and especially

Arizona's Sen. Barry Goldwater, whocharged a "surrender" on Nixon's part

and "the Munich of the Republican

Party." Southern Republicans were espe-

cially upset about a stronger civil rights

plank drawn up by Rockefeller and

Nixon. The plank went in the platform,

but some of the bitterness from that fight

has returned to plague the Republicans

ever since.

In 1964, when Goldwater's conserva-

tives controlled the convention, they

wrote a platform too far to the right for

Republican moderates and liberals. Themoderates, badly beaten in the platform

committee, took their fight to the con-

vention floor, proposing amendments to

strengthen the civil rights provision, con-

demn extremism and assert traditional

Presidential authority over the use of

nuclear weapons. They failed on all

three. Governor Rockefeller, speaking

in favor of the liberalizing, was roundly

booed by militant conservatives in the

galleries as well as some of the dele-

gates. The ugly memory of that night

was said to have been a major factor in

Rockefeller's initial reluctance to seek

the Republican nomination in 1968.

Other platform fights convulsed na-

tional conventions in earlier decades.

Both parties had open fights over the

silver planks in 1 896. In 1 924, the Demo-cratic Convention witnessed heated floor

fights over planks dealing with the

League of Nations and condemnation

of the Ku Klux Klan. In 1932, both par-

ties engaged in long debates between

Wets and Drys before they agreed on

platform planks dealing with prohibi-

tion.

Civil rights first emerged as a major

platform fight in this century at the 1948

Democratic convention in Philadelphia.

Party liberals, including Hubert H.

ACKNOWLEDGING OR ACCEPTINGTHEIR PARTY'S NOMINATION

Humphrey—then Mayor of Minneapolis

—demanded a strong plank lauding

President Truman for his "courageous"

stand on civil rights and asking for fed-

eral legislation to assure rights to Ne-groes. Humphrey made an impassioned

speech for the stronger plank, saying it

was time "for the Democratic Party to

get out of the shadows of states' rights

and to walk forthrightly into the bright

sunshine of human rights." Southern

delegations, infuriated by the convention

vote approving the tough rights plank,

walked out of the convention to form the

Dixiecrat (States' Rights) Party that

would win four Southern states in No-vember.

In 1960, the Democrats had no open

fight over their platform, but it wasdrawn up by a group of strong-minded

party liberals headed by former Con-necticut Governor Chester Bowles, a

supporter of Kennedy for the nomina-

tion. In effect, the platform helped set

the stage for Kennedy's nomination. For

many of the same reasons, Republican

(Continued on page 50)

Dwight Eisenhower ^ Lyndon B. JohnsonTHE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • JUNE 1968

Our latest military plane is magnificent. But it isn't what the Air Force or the Navy

wanted. Here^s a look at the F-111, the controversial airplane with a split personality.

The F-111

Our Schizoid Airplane

The F-111, as designed by General Dynamics, conjectured in flight with its wings swept back. Controversy surrounded it as former Defens(

By ROBERT IRELAN

WHAT IS A "schizoid" airplane?

Well, a schizoid person has twoor more personalities, like Rob-

ert Louis Stevenson's Dr. Jekyll and Mr.

Hyde. Our new and controversial multi-

purpose military airplane, the F-111, is

'schizoid" because it represents an at-

tempt to make one basic plane do for

the somewhat different needs of the Air

Force and the Navy.Robert McNamara, throughout the

years when he was Secretary of Defense,

made it a firm rule that the Navy andthe Air Force must use the same basic

craft for their "airplane of the future."

The Navy was to get the Air Force plane,

and the Air Force was to accept someNavy modifications. This led to morecontroversy than has surrounded anymilitary plane in our history. Back in its

12 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • J

early experimental days the plane wascalled the TFX, and the controversy that

raged over it was the "TFX controversy."

Now that the Air Force version is op-

erational, the TFX is called the F-111,

and the controversy, far from dead, is

proceeding as the' "F-111 controversy."

The Air Force version, which began

combat flights in Vietnam last March,

is the F-111 A.

The Navy version is known as the

F-1 1 IB. After nine years and millions of

dollars, it may never become opera-

tional. A Senate Committee recently

voted to disallow further funds for the

Navy version, and noises have recently

come from the Pentagon that the Navywill start to develop its own craft. That's

what it started out to do back in 1959,

before it was told it would have to settle

for an adaptation of the plane the Air

Force then wanted to develop.

UNE 1968

The fact that two of six F- Ill's werelost (to the tune of about $5.2 million

apiece) on their first combat missions in

Vietnam last March has added fuel to

the controversy, as has the loss of a third

one in April. Actually, their loss maynot have had anything to do with the fact

that the Air Force plane was compro-mised to meet Navy needs. The last of

the "bugs" in any new gadget aren't

going to be known until it has been put

to the use intended, whether or not its

design is a compromise.

The split personality of the F-111

forces itself on you when you attempt to

describe it. As a brand new military air-

plane it is, by all previous standards,

utterly fantastic. On that basis it is noth-

ing short of a "gee whiz" aircraft, the

wonder of the ages. Let's look at it for a

minute in its role as the very latest thing,

and forget for a while its other person-

COURTESY GENERAL DYNAMICS

Pilot sweeps wings back in fliglit, for highspeed. F-111 is the first operational plane

to have the variable wing feature.

ec'y McNamara insisted Air Force and Navy use same basic plane. Now Navy may not use it.

ality as a compromised, controversial

craft with built-in features for naval use

that may never be.

Before it went into combat the

F-111A drew undiluted praise from the

Air Force men who had the job of mak-ing it operational in the States.

This is a plane that has stretched the

art of aircraft building to new lengths.

A pilot can literally shape his plane for

the job he wants it to do, while in flight.

He can extend the wings almost straight

out for short takeoff and landing, or for

long-range, fuel-saving flights. Or he cansweep them in tight against the fuselage

for supersonic streamlining. The idea of

movable wings is no longer new, but the

F-111 is the first operational plane withthem.

Because of the wings, it can land as

slowly as 100 knots, yet race 2.5 timesthe speed of sound at high altitude and

1.2 times the speed of sound while hug-ging the earth.

It can fly transoceanically without re-

fueling, and carry ordnance rangingfrom iron bombs to nuclear weapons.The swing-wing concept originated in

1959 with Air Force Gen. F. F. Everest,

then commander of the Tactical Air

Command, who was on the lookout for

a successor to the F-105 fighter. To makehis command more responsive to any de-

mands on it, he wanted a plane that

could take off from short, unimprovedairstrips, fly non-stop and without aerial

refueling across the Atlantic, carry nu-clear or conventional weapons, and govery fast at both high and low altitude.

The missions were contradictory.Short takeoff and landing, as well as

long-range flight, require long wingssticking almost straight out from the

body. But to fly fast at low altitude,

THE AM

where the air is thickest, the wings haveto be short and swept back into a delta

shape. Planes with variable wings hadbeen built before, all right, but they hadsuffered balance problems when the posi-

tion of the wings was changed. So they

had never gone beyond the research anddevelopment stage.

Then in 1959, the National Aero-nautics and Space Administration offered

General Everest a technique in swing-wing design that it said didn't upset sta-

bility. With this, plans to seek a builder

for the TFX (for Tactical Fighter, Ex-perimental) began. The present plane is

the result—altered along the way to sat-

isfy some Navy requirements.

Talks with pilots who fly the F-1 1 1 A,and with mechanics who maintain it,

confirm that the craft is a highly versatile

weapon. Air Force Col. Ivan H. Deth-man, who commands the 428th Tactical

Fighter Squadron (the first unit to get

the lllA) and Lt. Col. Ed Palmgren, a

North Carolinian who flew 100 combatmissions during the Korean War, wereboth enthusiastic. The F-lllA's com-plex, multi-mission machine exceededtheir expectations.

The swing-wing design, they said,

worked flawlessly. To change the sweep,

the pilot merely moves a lever in the

direction he wants the wing to move.While earlier test planes with swing-

wings had a single pivot point on the

fuselage for both wings, the F-111 has a

separate one for each wing. This solves

the balance problem and, pilots say,

makes the plane "feel the same in all

configurations."

The sweep of the wings is all the wayfrom 16 degrees back of straight out,

which creates maximum lift, to 72.5 de-

grees back, for minimum drag. With the

wings spread out, pilots actually havelanded the plane at less than 100 knots

and used less than 2,000 feet of runway.The wings' lift for takeoff and land-

ing has been further increased by full-

span flaps on the trailing edge and full-

span slats on the leading edge.

At top speed, the wings are sweptback till the tips nearly touch the tail.


CONTINUED The F-Ul . . .Our Schizoid AirplaneActually, the plane doesn't need any

wings at such speed. Its body alone gen-

erates enough lift. Flying at altitudes of

more than 60,000 feet, the F-Ill can

do better than 1.650 miles an hour.

The plane's engine concept is new.

It's the first time a turbofan jet engine

has been mated with an afterburner. Theturbofan. a favorite of commercial air-

lines, gives maximum jet fuel economy,

while the afterburner provides maxi-

mum thrust for takeoff and supersonic

flight.

sign, the F-IIIA has demonstrated it

can dash at sea level 130-to-280 knots

faster than any other U.S. fighter plane.

It has shown it can cruise 70 to 100%farther than any other operational

fighter. This is with internal fuel only.

Mounting external fuel tanks, it can, of

course, go still farther. The plane has

flown from Maine to Paris, using only

internal fuel, and had enough left to

land it at any base in Spain.

For very low-level, high-speed flight,

an automatic device takes the F-Ill

a distance of well over 1,200 miles.

This high-speed automatic piloting,

rising over mountains and coursing

down into valleys, is the most dramatic

part of the plane's electronics package,

whose basic unit is "TFR" or Terrain-

Following Radar.

It can be set for flying at 100 feet. In

case of malfunction, the plane auto-

matically goes into a steep climb.

"It takes a little self-discipline to keep

your hands off the stick the first time you

use the TFR, but you soon learn to trust

it," one Air Force major told me. TheTFR constantly looks down, ahead and

COUKTKSV, NATIONAL DYNAMICS

F ill can fly faster than sound, on automatic pilot, at altitudes as low as ICQ feet,

varying height with earth below. Navy needs cut low-flight range.

The F- Ill's afterburner is adjustable

to give the pilot a choice of five settings.

On most other military jets, it is either

on or off, so that once the pilot goes to

the burner he's running "all out," pay-

ing the price of enormous fuel consump-

tion.

Matching the two engines to the plane

created some problems.

There was engine stall under certain

conditions until design changes more

closely mated the air inlets with the

engines.

"They've got that fixed," says slightly

graying Brig. Gen. Ralph G. Taylor,

commander of the Tactical Fighter

Weapons Center at Nellis AFB, near

Las Vegas, Nev. His command is the

one bringing the plane into the U.S.

arsenal.

From his standpoint, the General

calls the aircraft "an unprecedented

success. We test everything from the

seat cushion to the weapons system, and

if we had any serious problems, wewouldn't be where we are with it."

With its engines and swing-wing de-

plane up over hills and down into valleys.

The Air Force wanted this low-level

supersonic capacity in order to descend

almost to the earth 400 miles from a

target, to avoid radar and ground de-

fensive fire on the final run. It wanted

automatic controls to do the job to makeit possible in all weather. The Navy had

little need of these features.

Early reports were that modifications

needed by the Navy had cut the plane's

top speed low-level range to 100 miles,

instead of the 400 the Air Force wanted.

The Air Force compromised its request

to 200 miles at McNamara's urging.

The actual earth-hugging range of the

finished product at supersonic speed is

classified, but it seems that it is in ex-

cess of 100 miles, though considerably

short of the 400-mile range. At slower

speeds it is much longer. Colonel Deth-

man picked up one F-lllA at Fort

Worth, where General Dynamics pro-

duces the Air Force version, and flew at

1,000 feet, following the contours of

the earth, all the way to Las Vegas

—

with his hands off the controls. That was

A close-up of the crew's module. See pic at

right for its operation as an escape unit.

on each side. And it displays visual sig-

nals on the instrument panel, which

can serve as auxiliary eyes when the

plane is piloted manually. A radar al-

timeter constantly feeds information

into the TFR on the plane's height from

earth.

The flight control system is "triply

redundant," meaning that it has three

circuits working at once, any one of

which can take over if either or both of

the others fail. The system is also "self-

adaptive," that is, it senses and measures

the F-lll's motions and compensates

for any deviation with direct commandsto the flight control surfaces. As a re-

sult of this and other equipment, the

plane's navigational accuracy is rated

50% better than any other fighter wehave, and it is considerably more ac-

curate in bombing.

The guidance system is "a lot better

than anything we ever had," says Gen-

eral Taylor. "We now have a 24-hour

tactical capability."

Crew safety has been carried farther

by this plane than perhaps any before


it. It's the first to have a crew capsule

that separates from the plane in case of

emergency. Because of the speed and

altitude the plane can achieve, conven-

tional seat-type ejection is inadequate.

The capsule leaves for the future only

a few new concepts. It doesn't spread

wings and fly the men home, or carry

out an armed attack of its own, so there's

something left.

Using spacecraft technology, McDon-nell Douglas Corp. built the capsule. Toseparate it from the plane, the pilot or

copilot pulls a pistol grip lever which

sets off an explosive charge that severs

being a scratched finger one of the pilots

got climbing through a fence afterward.

Of the first two F-lllA's lost on mis-

sions, the fate of the first was unknownat this writing. When the second had a

malfunction over Thailand, the pilot

ejected the capsule, and he and the co-

pilot came back whole.

Unlike most fighter planes, where the

copilot sits behind the pilot, they sit side

by side in the F-1 1 1 . Lieutenant Colonel

Palmgren likes the feature. "It's got real

advantages in coordination," he says.

This type of seating does produce a

somewhat thicker fuselage and thus

The F-1 11 carries farther than any

previous aircraft the features of "modu-lar" construction and maintenance. If

"modular" construction is not yet thor-

oughly understood by the whole public,

it will be one day, as anyone who puts

together a radio or other gadget from a

do-it-yourself kit soon realizes. A unit

(or module) containing dozens or hun-

dreds of parts can be slipped in or out

in one block. If one little part malfunc-

tions, the whole thing—be it a $50 stereo

amplifier or a multi-million dollar plane

—is not put out of commission during

repair. Instead the module containing

Artist's conception shows sequence when F-lllA crew ejects in escape module, which is made by IVIcDonnell Douglas. Escape system operates

through the entire flight envelope, even when F-lllA is on the runway. From ground level, the sequence takes 18 seconds; from 30,000 to 60,-

000 feet, duration is about ten minutes because of free fall to 15,000 feet, where stabilization chute opens automatically. Once the crew pulls either

of two ejection handles, the rest of the sequence is automatic. Upper torso harnesses retract; pressurization, emergency oxygen, and chaff dis-

penser mechanisms are actuated. Crew module is severed and rocket motor fires (1) as stabilization chute deploys. As rocket motor burns out (2)

the recovery chute deploys (3) and chaff falls to provide easy target for rescue radar. When the ejection is at high altitude, step 3 is initiated auto-

matically by barostats at 15,000 feet, after free fall. The recovery chute lines stretch out (4) and bags are deployed (5) to soften impact. Bags thenare inflated as the recovery chute blossoms overhead (6) and the crew module is ready to land (7). Module can end up on either land or water. If

water landing is made, control stick functions as bilge pump to help maintain air in flotation bags. After landing, module serves as shelter with full

kit of survival aids.

all connections to the fuselage. A rocket

motor fires the capsule upward. All the

time, the crew is kept in shirt-sleeve

comfort.

Because the capsule shoots upward,the crew can bail out at ten feet, or evenon the runway. Then it fires up and backnearly 500 feet, its parachutes open, the

landing pads inflate and it settles downno harder than a paratrooper would.Should a plane drop into the sea, the

capsule automatically bobs to the sur-

face, rights itself and inflates flotation

bags. The stick that the pilot used to

control the plane then becomes a bilge

pump, in case the watertight capsule

springs a leak.

During a test flight that went awry,

pilots had to use the module. Theylanded safely, with the only injury

slightly more drag, though there's moreroom for fuel and less instrument dup-

lication.

The thickening of the forward area it-

self was a basic design compromiseneeded by the Navy. It needed space for-

ward for Phoenix missile operation and

detection gear. The Navy's missileman

liad to sit beside the pilot. The slight

drag of the wide nose helped cut the lowaltitude dash range below the 400 miles

the Air Force wanted.

Some combat veterans say they still

prefer being up front alone, but onepoints out that it's especially reassuring

at low-level, high-speed flights to have

four eyes looking out front. On the other

hand, four eyes are needed more on the

F-111, because the pilot can't see out

the right.

the bad part is removed, a good moduleis inserted, and the plane goes on flying

or the radio goes on playing while the

defective module goes to the shop. Thusa defective F-111 can be operating even

before the repairman finds out what's

wrong with the part, or even which part

within the module is defective. To get

the plane back in operation, it is only

necessary to locate which module has

the malfunctioning part, if the problem

lies in a section that had been "modu-lized." "Module" once meant a standard

unit of size, now it also means a separate

standardized structural unit.

While all this is nothing new, the

F-111 is more easily attacked by a

ground maintenance crew than any pre-

vious plane in our arsenal. Built-in self

testing devices quickly locate trouble

THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • JUNE 1968 15

CONTINUE D The F-111 . . .Our Schizoid Airplane

spots. In many cases a flip of a switch

locates difficulty in a second and leads

to part replacement within minutes.

Most interna! parts may be reached at

about shoulder height by a mechanic

standing on the ground. He gets at them

by simply removing a panel of the

plane's "skin."

"You just can't beat it for mainte-

nance accessibility," says Maj. BobAutry. an F-111 squadron maintenance

officer, and he's astonished at the tire

wear. Six to eight landings on a set of

Meanwhile the plane has built into it

many features, some classified, to makeit a difficult target from ground or air.

The F-lll's configuration tends to de-

flect radar rather than bounce it back.

Absorptive material in the skin of the

craft blots up radar and returns a dimmer"blip" to the ground receiver. Various

defensive tactics are being worked out,

such as dumping spurts of fuel and ignit-

ing them into balls of fire with the after-

burner to throw off enemy heat-seeking

missiles.

purposes, and these include adaptations

for foreign purchasers. One bigger,

heavier version for the Strategic Air

Command, the FB-1 1 1, is to replace the

older versions of the big B-52 bombers.The President recently called for 75 of

them for the coming year. The RF-1 1 lAis projected as the Air Force's new re-

connaissance plane. A model of the F-

1 1 1 A, called the F-1 1 ID, is to have the

newer electronic gear that goes one upeven on the A. The F-1 1 IC is an altered

version to meet special requirements of

the Royal Australian Air Force. Anotheradaptation for British use—the F-1 1 IK,

was cancelled when Britain recalled its

COURTESY, NATIONAL DYNAMICS

The F-111 as a bomber. Its electronic gear is said to make it the most accuratebomber yet. A heavier version, the FB-111, is planned to replace older B-52's.

F-1 00 tires was about par for the course,

he says, while "with this plane we've got

more than 100." The landing gear has

a new design for operation on rough

emergency fields.

The upkeep characteristics fulfill the

toughest set of standards ever laid downby the Air Force and Navy. They said

the plane must start to taxi for takeoff

within five minutes from alert, and be

able to take off within 30 mintues of

landing from a previous mission. It

should require no more than 15 minutes

on-the-ground time to identify any fault

in the system, need no more than 15

minutes for pre-flight check-out; remain

on continuous alert for five days; fly 30

hours a month, and be operationally

ready 75% of the time. Gen. Taylor said

that in early operational use in the States

his men were getting nearly 60 hours a

month flying time, or "twice what we got

with other aircraft."

The plane isn't built for dogfighting

with enemy aircraft (too much speed for

one thing). It fights enemy planes with

a defensive missile system aimed by ad-

vanced electronic brains. Production of

a more spohisticated missile defense is

under way to replace the present system.

16 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • J

A separate radar system permits the

F-1 1 1 to land on any runway, even one

not equipped with radio or radar landing

aids. Missile firing, bombing and navi-

gating to targets are controlled by the

most sophisticated electronics yet for a

military plane.

For Air Force use the plane is both

a fighter and a bomber, as well as a re-

connaissance plane. Different models

have been worked out for specialized

Easily accessible part-units can be yanked fromunder plane's skin and replaced in few minutes.

50-plane order as part of its military

economy program.

As an operational plane, the F-lllAhas gone into combat on fairly short no-

tice, and this may or may not have some-thing to do with the headlined losses in

the Vietnam war. If the operational test-

ing was thorough, it was short. The first

experimental plane was "rolled out" at

Fort Worth in Oct. 1964, and flown that

{Continued on page 46)

WIDE WORLD

Sen. Henry Jackson (Wash.) and Sen. John McClellan (Ark.), left and center, led

probes in Senate of F-111 planning by former Defense Sec'y McNamara, right.

UNE 1968

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF iNTKlCiOK-K ATlONAl, I'AIUC SKRVICE PUuTO

SEEING HISTORIC AMERICA #46 -A travel series for motorists

4^

George Washington's Pre-Revolutionary Fort

Pathetic little Fort Necessity, near Uniontown, Pa., where 22-year-old George Washington was besieged by the French in 1754.

(Readers may find this series of value on

future motor trips or of interest to stu-

dents of American history. We suggest

you clip and save each as it appears.)

By ALDEN STEVENSField Director, Mobil Travel Guide

A HOST OF LESSER-KNOWN faCtS

about the earlier life of GeorgeWashington are symbolized by a small,

round, reconstructed fort—Fort Neces-

sity—^located near Uniontown, Pa., just

off U.S. 40, 56 miles south of Pittsburgh.

Here, on the miserable, rainy night of

July 3, 1754, Washington was responsi-

ble for the official start of the Frenchand Indian War. Washington, then a 22-

year-old lieutenant colonel hopelessly

besieged by French forces, unwittingly

signed a document in French admitting

that his troops had "assassinated" a

French officer.

A year earlier, Lt. Gov. Robert Din-

widdle of Virginia sent Washington to

Fort le Boeuf, north of the present Pitts-

burgh, to warn the French to withdraw

from the Ohio Valley. Washington waspolitely received but his message was re-

jected. Dinwiddie then sent a detachment

to build a fort where Pittsburgh stands

today. Driven back by the French, whosoon built their own Fort Duquesne at

Pittsburgh, the men joined Washingtonand his men and helped build an emer-

gency shelter. Fort Necessity.

In a skirmish during the construction

of Fort Necessity, French Ensign Joseph

Coulon de Villiers, Sieur de Jumonville,

was killed. Later, the French attacked

Washington and his force of fewer than

400 men. The men fought valiantly, but

it was soon clear that they were vastly

outnumbered and Washington agreed to

make an honorable withdrawal. Hesigned an agreement, written in French,

without realizing that it referred to

Jumonville's death as an "assassination,"

and thus "confessed" to the world a

crime he had not committed. This "con-

fession" was the excuse the French

needed to bring the war out in the open.

The road Washington built through

the forest and across the mountains to

Fort Necessity became the National

Road^—the first step in the development

of a national highway system. Trace.s of

it are still to be seen.

At Mount Washington Tavern (1816-

18), near Uniontown, are relics of Fort

Necessity, colonial furnishings and docu-

ments. At Addison, 20 miles east on U.S.

40, there is an old National Road toll-

house still standing. Fishing in summerand skiing in winter are very good at

many points in the mountainous, for-

ested area around the old fort. Gettys-

burg is 160 miles east. (See AmericanLegion Magazine, May 1967.)

1968 Motel and Restaurant Info:

In Uniontown: Very Good—Mt. Vernon Motel,180 W. Main St. on U.S. 40. 43 A/C rooms.Restaurant, bar. (412) 437-2704. Very Good—Uniontown Motel, 2 miles E on U.S. 40. 32 A/Crooms. Restaurant adjacent. (412) 437-7561.(There are many other satisfactory accom-modations not far from Fort Necessity. SeeMOBIL TRAVEL GUIDE to the Middle At-lantic States.)

Your appreciation of any historic site

is enhanced if you read about it first.

The National Park Service's 44-page

booklet, "Fort Necessity," by Frederick

Tilberg, available for 25<^ from the Supt.

of Documents, Washington, D.C., gives

a good account of what happened there.

"Guns at the Forks," by Walter O'Meara,

is an excellent book on the French and

Indian War. Ask your librarian for other

references.


Even in its dullest-looking moments, secret signals anc

By JOHN DEVANEY

INBASEBALL TODAY, the giving of

signs—and the stealing of signs

—

has become such a subtle art that

only a few fans are aware of all the

signals being flashed around a baseball

diamond. As Giant coach Wes Westrumonce said, "Baseball is like church;many attend but few understand."

The fan looks down from high in the

stands and he sees nine men standing

stock still, waiting for a pitcher to throw.It is a peaceful, almost sleepy scene.

But beneath the picture-postcard seren-

ity, messages dart busily between mana-gers and coaches, between coaches andhitters, between infielders and out-

fielders, between base runners and hit-

ters, between catchers and pitchers. Atany one moment, four or five messagesmay be crisscrossing an infield.

This telegraph system was invented at

some hazy time in the past. But it cameinto its own at the spring training campof the old Baltimore Orioles in 1894.

John McGraw and Wee Willie Keelersat on a bench in the dugout, talking

over an idea. They were inventing a play

that would prove the value of the "signs"

that were then scorned by some players.

Baseball signs trace back to the 1 870's,

when pro baseball became popular in

the United States. The first signs werebetween catcher and pitcher, the catcher

signaling to the pitcher with his fingers

for a fast ball or a change of pace. Bythe 1890's Chicago shortstop Bill Dahlenwas relaying the catcher's sign to the

other infielders. Knowing what the

pitcher was throwing, an infielder could


Baseball's Secretlean one way or the other on a pitch,

giving him a quick start on a ground ball

to his left or right.

But many players scoffed at signs.

"The only sign that's any good," said

Philadelphia slugger Ed Delahanty, "is

hit the ball." But now Keeler and Mc-Graw showed the scoffers just howvaluable signs could be. McGraw, first

batter in the Oriole lineup, had a knackfor drawing walks or slapping outsingles. The next hitter was Willie ("Hit'em Where They Ain't") Keeler, whocould place hits with a marksman's ac-

curacy.

"When I'm on first base," McGrawtold Keeler, "I'll give you a sign whenI'm going to steal. You hit the ball onthe ground—toward the spot the secondbaseman must leave if he runs to coverthe bag, or the one the shortstop leaves

if he covers the bag."

In the first game of the season, Mc-Graw reached first base. Immediatelyhe wigwagged a signal to Keeler: He'dbe running on a certain pitch. In zippedthe pitch. The second baseman ran to

his bag to take the catcher's throw andcut McGraw down. Keeler whacked the

ball through the hole left open by the

second baseman, as McGraw wheeledaround second base and sped into third.

And so the hit-and-run play came to

baseball. At first other teams refused to

believe that McGraw and Keeler's hit-

and-run play had been planned. Thenthe Orioles won 24 out of 25 games andeveryone in baseball was using signs to

hit and run.

Even some pro's have a hard time recall-

ing the signs used by their own side.

counter-signals are being flashed about the field in pro baseball.

Sign Language A sometimes hilarious account of

the secret codes that have been ivigivagged on baseball diamonds since 1894,

Signs also were used by Keeler andMcGraw to engineer the squeeze play.

With McGraw on third, Keeler would

Others are adept at stealing the enemy'ssigns, to flash to their own teammates.

give a sign he was bunting. On the pitch

McGraw raced for home. Keeler buntedthe ball and by the time the pitcher hadfielded it, McGraw had crossed the

plate, a grin on his Irish mug.Look closely at typical situations

today. There are runners on first andsecond, no one out. The batter walksto the plate and looks down at the third-

base coach for a sign. In the dugoutthe manager mutters something andscratches his head. A player, sitting next

to the manager, fingers an earlobe. Thethird-base coach stares at the manager,to decoy the opposing bench, which is

also closely watching the manager. Thereal sign is not the head-scratch, it is

the fingering of the earlobe by the player,

who is getting orders from the manager.Seeing the player touch his earlobe,

the coach knows what the managerwants to do: bunt. The coach now looks

toward the hitter. He slaps his hand,

blink both eyes, winks once, rubs his

hands along his pants legs, then touches

the letter "T" on his uniform shirt.

Touching that "T" is the "key" in this

set of signs. The batter knows that all

the signs before are merely gibberish to

confuse the opposition. The next sign

after the "key" is the sign that counts.

THE AM

The coach then touches hand to cheek.

Flesh against flesh. That, the batter

knows, is the sign to bunt.

Though he now has the sign, the bat-

ter continues to stare at the third-base

coach. If the batter turned away after

getting the sign, the opposition—jotting

down every move the coach makes

—

would soon figure out that touching the

"T" was the key and that flesh on flesh

was the sign to bunt.

When the coach finishes jiggering like

someone with an ice cube sliding downhis spine, the batter steps in to hit. Thecatcher crouches and pokes one finger

below his mitt, then four fingers, then

two fingers, then one finger.

Only one of those signs means any-

thing to the pitcher. All the other signs

are given to throw off the runner at

second base, who can see the catcher's

fingers as easily as the pitcher on the

mound. Before the inning began, pitcher

and catcher agreed: the third sign wouldbe the "live" one.

The catcher's sign, two fingers, wasfor the slider, the pitcher knows. But

he'd rather throw a fastball. The pitcher

may shake his head at the catcher, indi-

cating he wants another sign. But most{Continued on next page)


CONTINUED Baseball's Secret Sign Languagepitchers change signs by giving a sign

of their own.

In this situation, for example, the

pitcher rubs the left side of his shirt

once. That means he is subtracting one

from the sign given by the catcher. Onesubtracted from two is one. And sign

number one is the sign for the fastball,

if the pitcher had wanted to throw a

curve, he could have rubbed the right

side of his shirt once, meaning add one.

One plus two is three, the sign in this

set of signals for a curve.

Now the pitcher is ready to throw.

In the dugout of the team on the field,

a coach taps his right elbow. Each in-

fielder, seeing the sign, knows this is play

No. 4 in its defenses. On play No. 4

—

handling the sacrifice bunt with two menon base—the third baseman covers the

bag unless he sees the pitcher can't get

to the ball in time. The first basemancharges to pick up the bunt. The second

baseman covers first, the shortstop

covers second.

The pitcher hurls the fastball. Thebatter, setting to bunt, fouls off the pitch.

Strike one.

Again signs begin to fly. The third-

base coach gets a new sign from the dug-

out. He goes into his twitching routine.

He touches the letter "T" and then taps

the peak of his cap.

The niboff sign. The batter has been

told the bunt sign is off. He can hit.

In the other dugout, the managertakes off his cap. The catcher sees the

sign. The manager, expecting the hit

and run, is calling for a pitchout—a wide

pitch the batter can't hit. Then the

catcher can fling the ball to third base

to nail the runner coming down fromsecond.

The catcher gives the sign for a pitch-

out. In comes the pitch. It's wide but

the manager guessed wrong: the hit-

and-run sign wasn't on and nobody wasgoing. Strike one, ball one.

Again the Think Tanks in both dug-

outs spew out messages. In the dugout

of the team at bat, the manager orders

another bunt sign. In the defending dug-

out, a coach gives the sign for play No.2—an infield pulled back to try to makethe double play.

The catcher, though, looks toward

the dugout, tapping his knee guard three

times. The manager understands the

sign: the catcher wants to try a pickofT

play. A sub, acting on orders of the

manager, picks up a bat and swings it

three times. The manager is signaling to

the catcher: All right, try a pickoff.

The catcher crouches and gives the

sign for the pickoff. He pokes fingers

below his mitt: two, four, five, three. . .

20

Five. The pitcher sees that third sign,

and so do the shortstop and second base-

man. Five is the sign for the pickoff.

The shortstop raises his glove to hide his

mouth, looks at the second baseman andshapes his mouth to form an "O."

The second baseman understands. Onthe pickoff play he is to cover secondbase. If the shortstop had kept his mouthshut tight, the sign would have meantthe shortstop is covering.

The shortstop has another sign to

flash. He wiggles his glove behind his

back. The centerfielder, seeing that

wiggle, knows a pickoff play is comingup. On the pitch he will run in to backup second base in case the throw should

get by the second baseman.

On the mound the pitcher is staring

down at the hitter. He shakes his headonce, twice. At the plate the batter has

to be thinking: Is he shaking off the

catcher's signs? He threw a fastball be-

fore. Does he want to throw another

fastball? Or does the catcher want himto throw a curve ball?

Actually the head shaking meansnothing, simply a bit of psychological

The "right" sign is always mixed in

with phony ones, to confuse the foe.

warfare to worry the hitter. The pitcher,

by not going to his shirt to add or sub-

tract, already has indicated he will throw

what the catcher signaled for—a pitch-

out.

The pitch streaks in wide of the plate.

The batter lunges to bunt and misses.

The catcher grabs the ball and throws it

on a line to the second baseman covering

the bag. But the runner, after seeing the

batter miss the bunt, scuttles back to the

base ahead of the throw. Now the count

is two strikes and a ball.

ILLUSTRATEDBY BOB CLARKE

Sometimes unintended signs are given.

Then utter confusion may rule the nextaction.

Down at second base the runner gets

up slowly. He asks the umpire for time,

ostensibly to dust himself off. But he is

reviewing in his mind some things he

has noted about the catcher's signs.

Earlier in the game he had stood at sec-

ond and watched the catcher. In the dug-

out he had talked with a teammate whoalso had observed the order of the signs.

Both had a hunch the third sign wasthe catcher's "live" sign.

The runner now edges away fromsecond base. He peers down, watching

the catcher's signs. Five fingers, three,

one, four. . . .

One. Earlier the runner had seen the

catcher show one finger on the third

sign and the pitcher had thrown a fast-

ball. He makes a mental note: Is one

the sign for the fastball?

The pitcher throws. A fastball! One,

the runner now knows, is the sign for

the fastball.

The count is now two strikes and two

balls. Again the runner moves warily

off the bag, looking down at the catcher's

fingers. Five, two, one, four. . . .

One! Another fastball! The runner

steps off the base and yells at the batter.

"Be ready, Billy!" At the words "be

ready," the batter looks quickly at the

runner. He sees the runner tap his left

leg twice, a prearranged sign that the

runner believes the next pitch will be a

fastball.

Moments later the fastball shoots


toward the plate. The batter, cleats dug

in, tees off on the pitch and cracks a

double off the left-field wall, the runner

scooting around third and scoring.

All this has happened to one batter in

one inning of one ball game. In almost

every inning of every one of 162 gamesa season, dozens of such signals fly out

of dugouts. For this is a game of ploy

and counter-ploy, and signs are the

rockets which managers use to shoot

their ploys and counter-ploys into a

game.

Sometimes they are missed, stolen,

botched up; sometimes they are executed

faultlessly. And over nearly 100 years

of organized baseball, they have been

part of some of baseball's wildest, mosthumorous and most dramatic moments.

Last season Lou Brock—leftfielder

for the world champion Cardinals

—

could find little humor in missing a sign.

In one game he came to bat with a run-

ner on first base. Manager Red Schoen-

dienst gave the sign for a bunt. Brockdidn't see the third-base coach relay the

sign. He swung at the pitch and belted

a line-drive single into left field, movingthe runner to third base.

A little later Brock returned to the

dugout. Awaiting him was Schoendienst,

who fined Brock $25—base hit or nobase hit—for missing a sign.

"That happened to me three times last

season," Brock told me this spring.

"Each time, with a runner on first base,

I missed the bunt sign but hit a single

to left field to move the runner to third

base. But I'd missed the sign and it cost

me $25 each time."

In a game a few seasons ago, Phillie

first baseman Bill White saw a sign to

steal. Bill took off and stole the bag.

When White returned to the dugout,

manager Gene Mauch said, "You didn't

get the sign to steal. Bill."

"Sure I did," said White. And he de-

scribed the sign he'd received from the

coach.

"But we changed the signs yesterday,"

said Mauch. "You stole on last week's

sign."

On every club there is at least oneplayer who has trouble catching signs.

"For me," says Joe Pepitone, the some-

times forgetful Yankee centerfielder,

"the coaches let me make up my ownsigns. I tell them what sign I want to

bunt, to hit and run, to steal, and so on.

But even after I make up my own signs,

I forget them."

A few seasons ago Pepitone missed a

bunt sign and swung, cracking a long

home run that won the ball game. Thehomer cost him a $50 fine.

When Joe McCarthy managed the

Yankees in the 1940's, one player missed

even the simplest signs. One day the

third-base coach wigwagged the bunt

sign four times and still the player stared,

mystified.

The coach made a bunting motion

with his hands. The player leaped half

a foot. "I got it," he yelled. "I got it."

"So has everyone in the ball park,"

muttered McCarthy, giving the ruboff

sign.

Jimmy Dykes, as White Sox managerin 1938, had little confidence in first

baseman Zeke Bonura's sign reading.

Bonura was traded from the White Sox

to the Senators. The first time the White

Sox played the Senators, a coach said to

Dykes, "Bonura knows all our signs,

Jimmy, we'll have to change them."

Phil Rizzuto would mix a bunt signal

in with a fake argument with the ump.

"Why should we?" replied Dykes.

"Bonura never caught any of our signs

when he played for us."

Late in the game, with the score tied,

Bonura got to third base. In the White

Sox dugout, Dykes absentmindedly

rubbed a finger against his chin. Glanc-

ing into the dugout, Bonura saw Dykestouch his chin. On the next pitch the

slow-running Bonura took off for home.The astounded White Sox pitcher threw

wild and Bonura scored the winning run.

In the dugout, the surprised Senators

asked Bonura why he'd stolen home. "I

saw Dykes touch his chin and that's his

sign to steal," said Zeke. "I forgot I

wasn't on his team anymore."

Most managers do change their signs

when they play a team to whom they

traded a player.

In the 1952 World Series, however,

Yankee second baseman Billy Martin

was shocked to see Dodger managerCharley Dressen flashing the same signs

he'd employed when Martin played for

Dressen in the minor leagues.

Martin didn't tip off what he knew.

At a critical moment in one game, the

Dodgers had a runner on third base.

Martin glanced toward Dressen. He sawthe Brooklyn manager touch his throat

—Dressen's old sign for the squeeze

play.

Martin whistled and Yankee catcher

Yogi Berra looked at him. Martin gave

a sign: Call for a pitchout. Berra did.

The hitter tried to bunt the wide pitch

but missed and Berra tagged out the

sliding runner. And the Yankees wonthe Series.

After playing 15 years for Connie

Mack's Philadelphia A's, Jimmy Dykes,

then a third baseman, was traded to the

White Sox. Dykes figured he knewenough about Mack's system to steal

his signs.

Sure enough, playing the A's, Dykesstole a sign. "We've got to change our

signs," one of the A's coaches told

Connie Mack."No," said the white-haired manager.

"I'll go on giving the same signs. But I

think I know a way to stop James fromstealing our signs."

In the ninth inning, the score tied, the

A's had a runner on first base. Mackgave the sign for a sacrifice bunt.

At third. Dykes saw the sign. On the

pitch he dashed for the plate. The batter

swung and hit a screaming liner that

shot right between Dykes' legs into left

field. Later, a pale Dykes learned that

Mack had been giving decoy signs. Aplayer sitting next to Mack transmitted

the real signs to the coach. Never again

did Dykes try to steal Mack's signs.

Connie Mack and John McGraw used

signs more than any managers before

or since. For many years McGraw, as

manager of the New York Giants, in-

sisted that each batter get a sign before

each pitch. From 1921 to 1924, whenthe Giants won four straight pennants,

no Giant pitcher threw without a sign

(Continued on next page)


CONTIN Baseball's Secret Sign LanguageIrom McGraw. no Giant batter swunga bat without a sign from McGraw, norunner stepped off a base without a sign

from McGraw. Even so, McGraw often

complained that his players played too

much on their own.

In one game a player got a sign to

bunt. Instead he swung and hit a homerun. In the dugout McGraw screamedat the man, "Why didn't you bunt?"

"The pitch looked so good I thought

I could hit it out of the park," said the

player.

"The trouble with this team,"

screeched McGraw, his face beet red,

"is that you oxes are doing entirely too

much thinking."

For several years Dummy Taylor, a

mute, pitched for McGraw. A happy-go-

lucky fellow, Dummy taught his team-

mates the sign language used by mutes

to communicate with each other. Mc-Graw often wigwagged the signs in

games. The players, collapsing with

laughter, also used the signs to insult

umpires, making signs that described

the umpires' ancestry in colorful terms.

That stopped, though, after an umpire

threw three Giants out of the game. It

seemed the umpire had a mute relative.

The best sign-stealing team of all time

is thought to be Connie Mack's 1929 A's.

Mack's players stole the catcher's signs

so skillfully that when a player hit a

triple early in a game, he often stopped

at second instead of taking three bases.

From second he could look down and

steal the catcher's signs.

Stealing signs seems to be an inborn

skill, similar to the fluency in language

that some people possess. "I could look

at a coach giving signs all day long,"

Yankee outfielder Tom Tresh told merecently, "and I wouldn't be able to pick

off a sign. Other players look at a coach

or a catcher for a few innings and

they're stealing signs."

Most sign stealers watch the third-base

coach. One of the easiest to decipher

was Iron Man Joe McGinnity, a coach

for the Dodgers in the 1920's. Joe would

stand in the box, as immobile as a tele-

graph pole. But when the manager gave

a sign, Joe jumped like a man jabbed

with a needle. He'd suddenly twitch,

dance, fling his arms. Then, the sign

given, he'd freeze again, notifying every-

one he'd given a sign and that his last

twitch was the sign.

A pioneer sign stealer was Bill Mc-Gunnigle, manager of the Dodgers in

1889. For several months McGunniglewondered, after he'd stolen the sign, howhe could tip off his batters to the pitch

that was coming.

He came up with an idea. He would

plant a metal plate under the dirt in the

batter's box in his home park. He'd con-nect the plate by wire to a battery in the

dugout. If a curve was coming, he'd press

a button and the batter, his cleats touch-

ing the plate, would be jolted by a shot

of electricity. If a fastball was coming,he'd jar the batter with two jolts.

McGunnigle dropped the idea, though,

when an electrician convinced him it

wasn't easy to engineer, and, if it were,

an electrocuted player would be a poorhitter.

Today's best sign stealers, a numberof National League players claim, are

Leo Durocher's Chicago Cubs. "Leoteaches his players what to look for when

two men on base in the last of the ninth

and the Giants losing, 4-2. RalphBranca threw a fastball and Thomsonlofted the pitch into the seats for a homerun and a pennant for the Giants.

Was Thomson tipped off that a fast-

ball was coming? "No," insists Thomson."I never wanted to know what pitch wascoming. I was so over eager, if I'd knowna fastball was coming I'd likely have

swung too soon and missed it."

To foil sign stealers, some ballplayers

use an actor's guile to hide their signs.

Whenever Phil Rizzuto, the former

Yankee shortstop, came to bat with a

man on third base, opposing infielders

looked for Phil, an adroit bunter, to give

a sign he was going to squeeze the run-

ner home."I knew they were watching me," says

The first hit-and-run play. John McGraw's raised cap warns Willie Keeler that he will steal onthe pitch. Keeler hits to spot left by second baseman as he runs to bag when McGraw starts

his steal.

they're on second base and can see the

catcher's signs," one catcher told me.

"When we play the Cubs, we change our

signs three or four times in a game to

throw them off."

When Durocher managed the Giants,

he didn't have to teach runners to steal

the catcher's signs. The spying was done

from the scoreboard, a trusted employee

peering at the catcher through a tele-

scope. The spy pressed a button that

buzzed in the Giant dugout: one buzz

for a fastball, two for a curve.

At the buzz, a Giant player on the

bench would yell something at the bat-

ter, such as, "Get a good pitch, Danny."

Hearing his first name, the batter knewthat was the sign a fastball was coming;

if he heard his last name, he knew a

curve was on the way. Teeing off on

pitchers, Leo's 1951 Giants came from

131/2 games behind to tie the Dodgers

and force a playoff.

In the final game of that playoff,

Bobby Thomson came up to bat with

Phil, now a sportscaster for the Yankees,

"to see me give the sign to the runner

that I was going to bunt. I'd first dosomething that would catch the runner's

attention. One season, I remember, I'd

turn to squawk to the umpire about a

pitch he'd called a strike.

"That would catch the eye of the run-

ner because I didn't often argue with

umpires. Then, too, the opposing play-

ers wouldn't be watching me so closely,

figuring I wouldn't give a sign while I wasarguing.

"But I would. As I yelled at the um-pire, I'd hold my left hand so the run-

ner could see my palm. When I finished

squawking, I'd peek at the runner. If

he was holding his right hand so I could

see his palm, I knew he'd gotten the sign

and was 'answering.' When I got the

answer, the squeeze was on."

Occasionally a sign can be too natural

a gesture. Last year Hank Bauer, the

Orioles' manager, gave the bunt sign by{Continued on page 54)


The Gipsy Moth and her skipper approaching Plymouth Sound, iVlay 28, 1967, near end of trip from Australia to England

An Uncommon AchievementGIPSY MOTH CIRCLES THEWORLD, by Sir Francis Chichester.

COWARD-MCCANN, INC., NEW YORK, N.Y.,

$6.95.

In a boat just 53' 1" long, Francis Chi-

chester sailed alone around the world. Set-

ting sail from Plymouth, England, on August

27, 1966, he traveled a total of 29,630 miles

in 226 actual sailing days. Out to Australia

via the Cape of Good Hope, he returned byway of the Horn, arriving once again at

Plymouth on May 28, 1967.

It is enough that any man should attemptsuch an adventure, but that the man whomade this remarkable journey was 65 years

of age and had sustained a painful and quite

serious leg injury prior to the start of his

travels is astonishing. Add to that several

defects in the construction of the boat whichdemanded frequent attention and correc-

tion on the part of her skipper, plus the

prospect of total solitude except for radio

contact for some 107 days on the outgoingvoyage, and for another 119 days on the

return trip, with weather conditions rang-

ing from virtual calm to seas of over 60 feet

high and winds over 55 knots and you havesome idea of what lay before Sir Francis

Chichester.

The voyage of the Gipsy Moth is a de-

lightful travelog as well as an exciting ad-

venture tale because of the way the narrator

tells his story. Evidently a man of rare

self-sufficiency, capable of bursts of hot tem-per and yet able to laugh at himself. Sir

Francis treats his readers to an expose of

his many misadventures at sea when all toooften the joke was on him. But though the

humorous accounts of the chaos aboard,caused by supplies spilling all over the cabinin heavy seas, and of his many minor acci-

dents may make him seem somewhat a comiccharacter, Chichester's outstanding feat

leaves one well aware that here is a seamanof great courage, physical endurance andmoral and emotional stamina, one cut fromthe fabric of which life's heroes and legendsare made.

Tourist On TrialINCIDENT AT BORIS GLEB/THETRAGEDY OF NEWCOMB MOTT,by DeWitt S. Copp. doubleday & co.,

GARDEN CITY, N.Y., $4.95.

Once again Americans are on the move as

summer weather and vacations combine to

lure us to new sights, both near and far.

In a sense, therefore, it is a suitable time to

recall the frightening and tragic events that

surround the case of one American traveler,

a 27-year-old publishing house sales repre-

sentative who was enjoying a pleasure trip

in Europe in September 1965.

Newcomb Mott, as author Copp describes

him in this awesome book about his arrest

and trial, was distinguished by being totally

indistinguishable from thousands of otherbright, attractive, fairly prosperous youngAmerican men who graduate from our col-

leges every year. He had a job that he liked,

a close relationship with his parents andbrother, and had traveled extensively. Yethe was to become a victim of the cold war,endure weeks of solitary confinement in aSoviet prison, stand trial in a Soviet court,

be sentenced to a Soviet labor camp and,finally, die, ostensibly by his own hand, on aRussian train that was transporting him to

the prison where he was to serve out his

sentence. Why? What had Mott done?Newcomb Mott had become lost while

seeking a Russian border check point andhad accidentally crossed an unmarked bor-

der from Norway into Russian territory

without a visa.

In a shocking, eye-opening portrayal of

just what can happen when a person makesa mistake behind the Iron Curtain, Mr. Copphas traced the events leading up to andsurrounding the Newcomb Mott case. Cer-

tainly, at the outset, no one in the U.S.

government ever thought the Russians wouldallow the case to go to the extremes it did,

nor could they anticipate the gruesome out-

come. But whether it was all premeditatedby the Russians as a situation they could

exploit as an example to those who don't re-

spect Russian territorial borders; or they

were provoked by U.S. refusal to exchangeMott for Igor A. Ivanov, a known Russianspy arrested by the FBI in 1963; or whetherthe Russians felt that it was imperative to

eliminate Mott because of the importance of

something he may have seen while wander-ing around lost, the result was the same. OnJanuary 20, 1966, almost five months after

being taken prisoner, Newcomb Mott wasdead—a suicide by Soviet pronouncement—the mortal wound a slashed throat, but with65 other slashes plus bruises and abrasions

on various parts of his body. csh

851 Blinded Veterans: A Success Story.

AMERICAN FOUNDATION FOR THE BLIND,NEW YORK, N.Y., paperback, $4.25.A Veterans Administration supported

study of 851 men who have sustained a

service-connected disability resulting in at

least a 70% loss of vision and have received

extensive rehabilitation training. The re-

port shows that when provided with ade-

quate medical, social and rehabilitative

services, the blind can attain a place in com-munity life generally comparable to the

sighted.

By A Thousand Fires, by Julia M. Seton.DOUBLEDAY & CO., INC., GARDEN CITY, N.Y.,

$6.95.

A biography of naturalist Ernest Thomp-son Seton by his wife, which includes someof his own writings and drawings and gives

a picture of Seton's childhood, and points

up his interest in conservation and Scouting.

Suez, by Hugh Thomas, harper & row,PUB., NEW YORK, N.Y., $5.95.The Suez Canal crisis of 1956 is recalled,

with emphasis on the leading political figures

whose personalities so largely shaped events

in the Middle East at the time.

Books can be purchased through local book-stores or by writing directly to book pub-lishers. Editors

JTHE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • JUNE 1968 23

Opposing Views by Congressmen on Ttie Question

.

SHOULD THE U.S. GIVE

As A Navy veteran who finished his college educa-

tion under the World War 2 GI Bill, I know what it

means to scrimp and save for an education. I camefrom the coal fields of southern Indiana and there wasno other way for me—other than the GI Bill.

Maybe that is why I helped ramrod the new GI Bill

through the United States Senate last year.

Perhaps my own personal experience explains whyI was a principal author of the Higher Education Actand its provisions for loans to the student with the

determination to try for an education.

All right, you may say, "but how about me, the

parent?" While our first priority was attention to the

student himself, it is now time to turn to tax relief for

that "forgotten American," the taxpaying parent.

The College Student Assistance Act was adopted in

1965, based on modification of my 1964 bill providing

government guarantees of bank loans to students

themselves, plus grants to the neediest. In the current

1967-68 academic year, these programs are benefitting

more than a million American college students. Withthis done, I see the tuition tax credit for parents the

next essential step.

Tuition tax credit provides income tax forgiveness

equal to 75% of the first $200 in tuition costs, 25% of

the next $300, and 10% of the next $1,000. Maximumcredit per student is $325.

It helps the low-income family more proportionately.

The taxpayer with $5,000 in adjusted gross incomewould get a $225 allowance on $500 of tuition paid. Thetaxpayer with $25,000 would get no more.

It especially benefits the working student. A single

student with $3,000 income pays $329 in taxes. Re-

bates for tuition costs will help the working student.

It encourages many tax-

payers to support college

education who now do not

do so. A relative could pay$300 toward tuition andreceive a $175 credit. Analumnus could provide a

$200 scholarship to his col-

lege for an out-of-pocket

cost of only $50.

It follows present tax

credit precedents. Weallow investment taxcredits and fast deprecia-

"YES"

Sen. Vance Hartke(D-lnd.)

tion write-offs as business stimulants. Isn't relief fromhigh tuition costs as great a contribution to our social

goals?

But if you don't pay taxes a tax credit would do youno good. For example, a mother and father of eight

with a $7,000 annual income have $6,000 in personal

exemptions alone, plus other deductions. To remedysuch discrimination against the truly neediest, I haveoffered an amendment requiring the Treasury to treat

the difference as an overpayment. Thus, a tax credit

of $225 and a tax bill of $100 would result in no pay-

ment at all but a Treasury check for $125.

Forty-seven of the nation's 100 Senators agree Butwe need your help and your letters.

1

If you wish to let your Congressman or one of your Senators know how you feel on this bigs


A TAX CREDIT FOR COLLEGE TUITIONS?

"NO"

Sen. Russell B. Long(D-La.)

A TAX CREDIT for educa-

tion expenses has beendescribed as an "upside

down scholarship"—andwith good reason. It gives

a tax bonanza to those

whose incomes are high

enough that they are al-

ready sending their chil-

dren to school, but offers

little or no help whatso-

ever to poorer people whoare unable to afford college

educations. And the higher

a parent's income, the more tax credit he would get.

It is particularly unfair to give a tax credit at this

time for this purpose because it creates this situation:

If one boy goes to serve his country in the field of

battle, his family gets no help; if another boy applies

for and gets a deferment to go to college, his family gets

a tax credit. That makes it a bonus for those who do

not serve on the field of battle.

I find many faults with the tax credit approach as

an aid to education, but they all revolve around onecentral objection—it widens the gulf between the

"haves" and the "have nots."

It rewards the wealthy family with children in col-

lege, but does nothing to expand educational oppor-

tunities so that more of our youth can receive a college

education.

It is no secret that college costs are rising. Univer-sities are charging more and more in tuition fees to

meet higher classroom construction expenses and ever

issue, fill out the '^ballot'' and mail it to him.

mounting teachers' salaries. If a tax credit wereenacted—thereby reducing a parent's out-of-pocket

costs—institutions would likely react by upping their

tuition charges still higher. This would tend to price

youngsters of moderate families out of college.

The goal of government should be to expand andbroaden educational opportunities. That is why Con-gress renewed the GI Bill of Rights for VietnamVeterans. More than a quarter million of them will get

college educations under that program this year, edu-cations that many of them could not otherwise obtain

at today's prices. The National Defense Education Actis another move to open the doors of higher learning

to more of our youth. So is the Higher Education Actof 1965. This act includes scholarships, student em-ployment and guaranteed interest-subsidized loans for

students from all income classes. It has been described

as "potentially the most significant assistance to higher

education ever devised."

Matching these efforts to enlarge education oppor-

tunities, the federal government also has acted to re-

lieve classroom shortages and help keep tuition ex-

penses down.These and related programs move in the right direc-

tion. They are doing much to make the Americandream of education a reality for qualified boys andgirls who want to take advantage of them.

I favor additional legislation in that direction.

rI have read In The American Legion Magazine for June

the arguments in PRO & CON: Should The U.S. Give

A Tax Credit For College Tuitions?

IN MY OPINION THE U.S. SHOULD GIVE A TAX CREDIT

SHOULD NOT GIVE A TAX CREDIT FOR COLLEGE TUITIONS.j

SIGNED 1

AnnpFtiQI

TOWN STATE

. . !

You can address any Representative c/o U.S. House of Representatives, Wash-ington, D.C. 20515; any Senator c/o U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C. 20510.


By R. B. PITKIN

THIS YEAR The American Legion's

50th National Convention will beheld in New Orleans, from Sept.

6 to Sept. 12. It returns for the first

time since 1922. The 1963 conventionwas scheduled for New Orleans, but un-

solved problems at the last minute led

to its removal to Miami Beach. By then

this magazine had already published a

pre-convention story on New Orleans in

our May 1963 issue. It was written byPete Martin, whose delightful interviews

with show biz people used to charmreaders of the Saturday Evening Post,

back when the Post was everybody'sweekly magazine.

Pete did such a good job on New Or-leans as a place to visit that, at first

glance, he didn't leave much to say now,in 1968. when the convention will really

be in New Orleans. Pete covered the

good eating, the available entertainment,

the magnificent old homes, the river andbayou boat trips, the flavor and hospi-

tality of the city, the famous FrenchQuarter and its renowned restaurants,

unique jazz music establishments, andso on and on, pretty thoroughly. He eventhrew in some famous New Orleansrecipes.

But at second glance, there is a gooddeal more to fill in. New Orleans is rich

in a unique history of its own. One ofthe many remarkable things about its

history is that it forces itself on a mod-ern visitor in many ways, even giving

him problems.

The number one problem that history

gives a stranger his first day in the city

is that most streets have names, not num-bers. When you learn that the Public Li-

brary is at such and such a number onLoyola Avenue, you can't figure if

Loyola is a block from where you are

or miles away. And, with few exceptions,

all the downtown street names are his-

JACK BEECH

Jackson Square, where Mississippi valley was added to U.S., Dec. 20, 1803. Old St.Louis Cathedral, the Cabildo to its left, part of Pontalba apartments, extreme left.

4Municipal Auditorium, site of conven-tion sessions, stands in line of formerfort raised in 1700's against Indians.

Garden District has beautiful old Ameri-can homes. Even this weather-beaten oneis picturesque. Others retain splendor.

New Orleans from air, with some points of interest


toric, giving no hint of where they are,

as numbered streets do.

The next thing that confounds youfor a little while is that, in the downtownarea, virtually every street that crosses

the main drag (Canal Street) has one

name on the upriver side of Canal and

another on the downriver side.

Even before we can explain the his-

toric reason for the changing street

names, it must be said that New Orleans

has a special use of such words as "up"

and "down," "above" and "below." TheMississippi is king, and these wordsmean upriver or downriver. The river

snakes by generally west-to-east, with the

main city generally north of it. so that

the land southwest of Canal Street tends

to be upriver. The expression "above

Canal Street" means on the upriver side.

As this is southerly on the map and just

a little downhill too, in the rest of the

country we'd be apt to call it "below

Canal Street."

Unless you orient yourself to the flow

of the river, you may go exactly the

wrong way when someone directs youto Conti Street "three blocks below Ca-

nal." You might head south, away fromConti in the French Quarter, and end

up in the Garden District. If that's whatit would take to get you to see the Gar-

den District, all would not be lost by the

mistake. It's worth visiting. There you'll

see beautiful old American homes, manyof them built by the city leaders in the

19th century. Even most of the new ones

honor the old style.

With only two exceptions, every street

that crosses Canal from the Jung Hotel

to the river changes its name as it crosses.

This is roughly 13 blocks on Canal

Street, in the area that will contain most

of the Legion convention activities. TheJung (pronounced as in "jungle," not

the Germanic "yung") will house the

Auxiliary's convention, the National

Commander's Dinner to Distinguished

LAKE PONTCHARTRAIN CAUSEWAi

CITY PARK STADIUM - SITE OF DRUM & BUGLE CORPS CHAMPIONSHIP

MUNICIPAL AUDITORIUM -SITE OF CONVENTION SESSIONS

CANAL STREET - APPROX. PARADE ROUTE

THE FRENCH QUARTER

THE FRENCH MARKET

JUNG HOTEL

ROOSEVELT HOTEL

SHERATON CHARLES HOTEL

GARDEN DISTRICT

HOTEL MONTELEONE

CRESCENT IN RIVER THAT GAVE NEW ORLEANS THE NAME OF CRESCENT CITY

identified. French Quarter was the entire original city. International airport shows at left, just below Lake Pontchartraln.


ONT.NUED A Look at New Orleans, La.

n. n. PITKIN

Downtown skyline, seen looking upriver from docks below French Market.

Guests and the Auxiliary's States Dinner.

It is at Canal and La Salle. Across the

street La Salle becomes Marais Street.

A few blocks down Canal is Elk Place

(entering on the south or upriver side)

where the reviewing stand for the Le-

gion's parade will be located. If you go

looking for famous old Basin Street (re-

member Basin Street Blues?) on that side

you could pass it unnoticed at Elk Place.

Elk Place is Basin Street on the other

side of Canal. Since Canal Street is over

1 7 1 feet wide ( reputedly the widest mainstreet in the world), it is pretty easy to

miss these name changes. A few blocks

down Canal from the Jung is the Roose-velt Hotel, the official Legion hq hotel.

It just about fills a block between Uni-versity Place and Baronne Street, which,

over on the "French" side of Canal, are

Burgundy and Dauphine Streets.

Most of the Legion committee andcommission meetings will be held in the

Roosevelt. But others will be nearby in

the Sheraton-Charles and the Monte-leone hotels. They are only a couple of

blocks apart. The Sheraton-Charles is onSt. Charles Avenue, on the "American"side, and the Monteleone is on RoyalStreet, on the "French" side. Same street.

Why these name changes? Well, as

you stand on Canal Street looking downit toward the river, everything in the

downtown area on your left is the mod-ern French Quarter, a fairly perfect rec-

tangle that was the entire original Frenchcity of New Orleans laid out by Jean

Baptiste le Moyne starting in 1718. In

1803. the United States bought New Or-leans from France, along with the rest

of the Louisiana Purchase. The FrenchCreole inhabitants (those of Frenchblood who were born in the New World,not in France) bitterly resented it. Theydisliked the Americans and Americanrule. In their reaction, they preserved

the original city as a cultural island of

their own, and had as little to do as pos-

28 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • JU

graphically in the early days that the

Garden District was formed in a sepa-

rate city then called Lafayette. TheFrench kept their own street names onone side of Canal Street, while the newpart of the city adopted different names.

The culture wasn't completely di-

vided. The modern Chamber of Com-merce tells a tale of an oldtime Irish hackdriver who, when told where to go, an-

swered, "Oui, yer onner." But the re-

mains of the early division still makeNew Orleans a city of rapid changewithin a few feet. Both sides of Canalare typical "business street." But turn left

on any cross street as you go southeast

of Rampart, and in only a few strides

you are in the entirely different FrenchQuarter, or Vieux Carre (Old Square).

Here, history will answer another

question you might pose. If the wholecity of New Orleans is justly famous for

TO LAKE PONTCHARTRMNVIA BAYOU ST. JOHN

oj mo DiaQ"rDDDNOWJACKSON SQUARE

Into the 1800's the main city looked about as It did on the mid-1700's map above. Thisis nearly identical to today's French Quarter, less the fortifications and some name

changes. Map is redrawn to indicate Canal Street site, some new names.

sible with the booming American enter-

prise and culture that flowed in. The city

became divided along Canal Street, to

the left French, to the right American,

as you face the river. The island in the

middle of Canal Street (now solely a

bus route) is still known as the "neutral

zone."

On the right the vigorous and bustling

Americans built a new business district,

which now forms a great wedge comingto a point where Canal meets the river.

And to the right of this wedge, in the

big bulge of land along the river, the

early Americans built their homes. This

contains the present Garden District.

The two cultures were so isolated geo-

NE 1968

its ironwork balcony and porch railings,

the French Quarter is the very center of

this architectural tradition. Perhaps

Royal Street has the most and the great-

est variety. Yet this is typically Spanish

in a city that was almost pure French,

and by and large the general architecture

of the French Quarter is Spanish. To un-

ravel this, we go back to the French and

Indian War, of whose Pittsburgh events

Barracks Street is a reminder. TheFrench lost Canada and all their inland

foothold on North America to the Brit-

ish and their colonists along the Atlantic.

(Though they still claimed the entire

empty midsection of the present United

States as their Louisiana Territory.)

HIRSCH/PHOTO RESEARCHERS

Brennan's justly famous French Quarter restaurant, one of many with elegant food.

RAI'HO-GUILLUMETTE

A street scene inside the French Quarterseen from balcony railed by typical iron-work for which the whole city is noted.

At the Peace Treaty of 1763, even asFrance surrendered Canada she saw thatshe couldn't long hold the Gulf Coast orthe great Louisiana tract that embracedthe whole Mississippi watershed fromYellowstone Park to western Pennsyl-vania. Rather than have Louisiana fall

at some future time to the British, Bour-bon France secretly gave the wholeworks to Bourbon Spain, which then heldboth Mexico and Florida. The Spanishrule lasted from 1766 to 1803. WhileNew Orleans remained almost pureFrench under the Spanish, the city

burned down twice in that period—in

1788 and again in 1794. Thus the pres-

ent "old city" is not the city the Frenchbuilt, but the one restored for its French

occupants on the old French plan, butunder Spanish architectural leadership.

A historical oddity is that, techni-

cally, George Washington kicked off thewar that resulted in the end of Frenchrule anywhere on continental NorthAmerica. The effect may have been far

more profound than the American Revo-lution, though Washington's role in get-

ting the French and Indian War going is

little noted.

As a young lieutenant colonel, he led

early attempts to dissuade the Frenchfrom fortifying the site where Pittsburgh,

Pa., stands. The impending war was thenlittle more than what we'd now call a

series of "border clashes." Washington'ssmall force got into one of the first ofthese "border clashes," south of present-day Pittsburgh. He wound up hemmedin by a superior French force during adark rainstorm at pathetic little Fort Ne-cessity. The French officer let his misera-ble, small force return to Virginia. Butthe paper Washington had to sign "con-

fessed" in French (which he couldn'tread) that his men had "assassinated"' a

French ensign. He'd actually been killed

in a skirmish at the head of an armedscouting party against Washington. The"confession" was used by the French as

a pretext to bring the war out in the open.(Our historic travel article in this issue

gives more details of this episode.)

The French built Fort Duquesne, to

control the upper Ohio from the site ofPittsburgh's present downtown GoldenTriangle. Washington returned underBraddock to take it. and saw Braddocklead his men to utter defeat. But in 1758the British finally captured Fort Du-quesne. The French garrison then gotout down the Ohio and MississippiRivers to New Orleans. The little rec-

tangular French city that New Orleanswas then lacked room for them, so spe-

cial barracks were thrown up beyondwhat was then Hospital Street and is nowGov. Nichols Street. And that is whythe street beyond Gov. Nichols Street

in New Orleans' French Quarter is still

Barracks Street.

The French Quarter today is really aliving museum, dedicated to very inter-

esting commercial culture, and to com-mercial entertainment that ranges in in-

terest. It smacks of old flavor that's notthe true flavor of the old city, thoughthere are similarities.

The newer growth upriver long agodrained the usual commerce out of the

old city (though some is now movingback). It moved onto and across Canal,while new business arose in the FrenchQuarter selling the French Quarter, and,

happily, preserving it.

Not that the flavor is oil to the good.Let's face it. Do away with sex, boozeand noise as commercial possibilities anda stretch of four or five short blocks onBourbon Street would have to go on wel-fare. This stretch is dominated by "night

BLACK STAR

Canal Street view looking riverward from above Jung Hotel. Jung will be site of severalconvention activities, and Legion parade will pass down Canal there.


CONTINUE D A Look at New Orleans, La.

clubs'" that are strip joints, where gals in

microscopic clothing demonstrate why"bawdy" and "body" are similar words.

But even Bourbon has other things, in-

cluding some of the most genuine hot

jazz joints in the land. The city may have

tolerated the seamier side of Bourbon

Street out of a belief that in a free coun-

try even suckers are entitled to a little

zoo of their own. If not. then perhaps

it has done so because you can be out

of it all quicker than you can yell

"Help!" if at night you've had sense

enough to remain steady on your feet.

It is only a few steps to the more typical

French Quarter, with more jazz music

places, historic curiosities, fabulous an-

tique shops, more old Spanish architec-

ture, sidewalk art displays, art and an-

tique galleries, coffee houses and the

great eating places that are and are not

nationally famous.

The French Quarter is also one place

by day and a very different one by night.

Even though most of the people there

are genteel, indeed downright nice, muchbooze flows at night. A lone stranger is

well advised not to overindulge himself,

lest from out of the genteel mass somecultural descendant of the old pirates

emerge to fleece him in his helplessness.

You have been warned.

By day the French Quarter is sober

AUTHENTIC NEWS INT'L

Longest bridge in the world (over 23miles) cuts across Lake Pontchartrain.

and quiet, an ideal time to soak up the

galleries, the food, the architecture, the

antiques, the art and the genuinely

friendly hospitality of most of the shop-

keepers, their help and the average citi-

zen you pass on the street.

Hippiedom has naturally invaded the

French Quarter, though hardly to the

extent of the sad, self-centered and self-

destructive animal-like breed that makesSan Francisco its capital. Hippiedom

30

likes to congregate especially aroundJackson Square, which is such a real his-

toric eyeful that one likes to think the

hippies appreciate it for what it is, rather

than as merely a convenient open spot

in a city for being hippie.

Let's go back to some history so you'll

know what you're seeing when you see

Jackson Square. Louis Phelypeaux,

Iberville's clique wanted to get rich

quick, chasing gold, etc., while brother

Bienville wanted to establish an indus-

trious city on the great river for the long

haul to riches. But it took Bienville manyyears to have his way.

In 1718 he chose the site of the pres-

ent French Quarter, and started to build.

In 1722 he became governor and began

to build a capital on the Mississippi in

earnest. His engineer laid out the bulk

of the present French Quarter, modeled

PHOTO RESEARCHERS

Revolving observation tower on International Trade Mart at foot of Canal Street.

THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • J

Count of Pontchartrain, was the foreign

minister of France back in 1698. Just

that much explains the name of the great

and beautiful Lake Pontchartrain that

defines New Orleans' north shore, across

which the locals have thrown up the

longest bridge in the world—a causeway

almost 24 miles over water, with no morecurve than the earth's. To Count Pont-

chartrain came one Pierre le Moyne, Ca-

nadian born, and also known as Sir Iber-

ville. He had a proposition. From Can-

ada the French had reached into the up-

per Mississippi, and La Salle had already

claimed its whole watershed for France

as Louisiana. But by 1698 the mouth of

the Mississippi (key to the whole valley)

was "lost." Iberville petitioned Pontchar-

train to let him take settlers and set up

a French capital on the Gulf to control

the valley and the river mouth. In 1698

he set sail from Brest with some 200 set-

tlers and his brother, Jean Baptiste le

Moyne, also known as Sir Bienville. (In

the French Quarter you will see Iberville

and Bienville Streets.)

In 1699 they found the river mouthand sailed above what's now Baton

Rouge. But Iberville chose Biloxi Bay,

on the Gulf shore of the present state of

Mississippi, as Louisiana's capital. There,

UNE 1968

after La Rochelle, France, and had all

the streets named by 1724. It was put on

the outside of a crescent bend in the

river, hence New Orleans is nicknamed

The Crescent City to this day. The city

was built around a government plaza and

parade ground in the center near the

river, called Place d'Armes (which is the

present Jackson Square). The great fires

in the late 1700's destroyed most of the

buildings. But to the joy of the French

Creoles, a wealthy Spaniard personally

rebuilt their old church, now standing

there as St. Louis Cathedral. To its right

as you face it was built the Presbytere

to house the priests, and to its left the

Cabildo, seat of municipal government

under Spanish rule. They are still there

as historic museums today.

Great events were still to come for

Place d'Armes. By 1801 the Spanish had

the same idea the French had had earlier.

Louisiana was going to be a difficult

place to hold, what with British power

at sea and independent America bustling

and growing to the north and insisting

that the Mississippi valley was absolutely

essential to her, including its river mouth.

Spain suddenly gave this embarrassing

spot back to France.

(Continued on page 48)

IIFE IN THE OUTDOORS

Danger— Charcoal Broiled

!

Uow DO YOU charcoal broil a steak? Restit right on the burning briquettes so it

sears deliciously on the outside and remainsrare in the middle? Grill it so its flamingjuices char it to give it that mouth-wateringcharcoal-broiled flavor? "CAUTION!" nowsay the medical authorities. "It may be haz-ardous to your health!" You probably canguess the reason, since you've seen the samewarning on packages of cigarettes. Cancer!Health laboratories have discovered that

charred portions of the steak, resulting fromcharcoal broiling, contain cancer-causingbenzo-pyrene and other suspected hydro-carbons. A typical 1-lb. charred steak couldcollect the same amount of benzo-pyreneas contained in 600 cigarettes. The sametheory applies to almost any charred food,actually—all meats and even burned toast

or English muffins!

But for the dedicated outdoor chef, whomay feel that fate has dealt him the unkind-est blow, the situation is not completelyhopeless. It is possible to cook with char-coal in a way to eliminate the hydrocarbonsand hence the danger, at the same time re-

taining most of the flavor.

1: Do not allow the fat to drip on the

coals. If it does, and catches fire, removethe meat temporarily until the flame hassubsided. In any cooking, even in gas andelectric ovens, burning fat should be avoidedbecause it chars. Simply move the meatfurther from the heat until the fat hasmelted and drained. Or cook the meat ini-

tially on aluminum foil until the fat hasliquified, then finish over the open coals.

There is also a vertical grill which holdsthe charcoal in an upright container; the

steak, too, is held vertically near the char-

coal so it can cook by heat-radiation, the

drippings falling clear of the fire.

2: Do not cook until the charcoal hasburned down to white, glowing coals. Thenthe smoke (the carbon carrier) will beeliminated.

3: If you feel that meat must be charredto have that distinctive "flavor," go aheadand char it, but don't eat it. Cut off anddiscard the blackened parts. The remainingedible portions will have much of the char-

coal taste, say the authorities.

THE RUBBER STRANDS from inside anold golf ball make excellent feelers and legs

for artificial nymphs and flies, reports

M. Bartalini of Fort Bragg, Calif. Clip the

strands to length with a scissors and either

glue them on with Epoxy, or wind them onwith thread. They make good hula skirts

for plugs, also.

FRESHEST raincoats in town are the latest

sportsman's product from Cortland LineCo., of Cortland, N.Y. Reason: they comevacuum-packed in a can along with Cort-land's new 7-Star monofilament fishing line.

Raincoat is reusable and folds to a size nolarger than a pack of cigarettes.

WHEN HUNTING, fishing, swimming,boating, water skiing, etc., always carry awhistle around your neck, advises HaroldStormer of Washington, 111. When you'rein trouble, blow it for help. Its sound will

carry farther than your voice, and blowingit won't weaken you as shouting can.

BOONDOCKS BATTERY CHARGER:That's what Harry I. Miller of Sarasota,

Fla., calls his little creation. Here's whathe says. "If you like to camp out in the

sticks far from electricity or gasoline sta-

tions, and want to keep your battery fromrunning down while using lights, radio, etc.,

without running your car engine, here's

what to do. Get an engine from a junkedpower mower, install four bolts athwart the

framework of your car (see photo) underthe hood, then mount a matching plate on

WATERPROOF any wristwatch! It's sim-ple, writes E. G. Key of Mount Pleasant,S.C. Before your outing, wrap it in a pieceof double-strength Saran Wrap which will

cUng to it and seal it. You'll be able to seethe time through the transparent plastic.

Though it's not 100% effective, it's a handytrick to keep in mind.

A FISH CALL that works every time,claims J. T. Escobedo of San Antonio,Texas, is a windup alarm clock. Seal it in

a plastic bag and lower to the bottom nearyour baited hook. The ticking will bring thefish.

WHEN Scotty Newkirk of Wildwood, N.J.,

enlisted in the army, the Sergeant said, "I'mgoing to give you a number you'll remem-ber all your life. It will be yours alone,another name for you." Now Scotty useshis ex-GI identification number to mark his

tools, tackle, guns and equipment that hasno serial number. It's his proof of owner-ship.

NOISY BOAT BOTTOMS, especiallymetal ones, will scare fish. To silence them.

Castoff mower engine will keep your car battery charged while afield.

the engine base. When in the field, take en-

gine from trunk, fasten to bolts, removefan belt from car engine, replacing it withbelt from mower engine to generator or al-

ternator. Adjust belt tension in usual fash-

ion. The little engine will run for a longtime, saving gas plus wear and tear on yourcar engine."

PICNIC tablecloths tend to blow off their

tables, but Wm. Berger, Jr., of Marion, Ind.,

has the solution, compliments of Mrs.Berger. She holds the cloths to the table

edges with the spring clips used by bike

riders, called "pants guards." They're inex-

pensive and durable.

POCKET CLEANER for picnickers,

sportsmen and motorists is a weak solution

of kitchen detergent and water, carried in

a small plastic bottle, recommends E. R.Weidemayer of Sellersville, Pa.

reports Joe Olsen of Miami, Okla., coverthem with a few inexpensive rubber orplastic shower mats. In addition to deaden-ing the sound of shuffling tackle boxes,

minnow buckets, beer cans, etc., they'll give

your feet safer traction.

WHEN FLIES are hatching on a trout

stream, it's not easy to catch a few so youcan match the hatch with an artificial un-less, writes Eugene Dirkman of Calumet,Mich., you've been smart enough to in-

clude some flypaper in your tackle. Theflies it captures will not only serve as speci-

mens, but also as bait on a tiny hook.

If you have a helpful idea for this featuresend it in. If we can use it we'll pay you$5.00. However, we cannot acknowledge, re-turn, or enter into correspondence concern-ing contributions. Address: Outdoor Editor,The American Legion Magazine, 720 FifthAve., New Yorlt, N.Y. 10019.


FOR YOUR INFORMATION

Vietnam Negotiations-

No Game For Amateurs

By NATIONAL COMMANDER

VIETNAM PEACE NEGOTIATIONS will be dangcfous and

delicate for our officials. Even on our side they must

resolve points among seven allies who have taken active

part, four of whom, outside of the two principals, put

almost twice as many troops in Vietnam as other UNnations put in Korea. In the best of circumstances, the

Communists are almost impossible to deal with. They

have violated every promise they made in the Vietnam

area, from the Geneva Agreements of 1954 to the Laos

"settlement" of 1962. Some at home are urging quick

concessions by us. In Korea, while we negotiated for 25

months, the Communists mounted offensives while we

did not. Our concessions then cost 12,000 American lives.

The final settlement there is still only an armed truce.

Our freedoms at home imperil our negotiators' chances

of success. Here any amateur may broadcast his owncure-alls whether he understands the pitfalls or not,

whether he has any responsibility or not, whether or not

he cares if our interests are served or ruined.

Judging from experience, the wilder the amateurish

criticism, the more our news media will feature it. Andif it is political as well, so much the more. In itself, this

is a terrible threat to a negotiated peace. Headlined irre-

sponsible judgments affect public opinion. Many people

tend to i5elieve that the publishers or broadcasters

wouldn't feature them if they weren't credible. It is often

a misplaced trust. In our society, adverse public opinion

has always impeded the ability of our agents to make the

best settlement. When the British offered us a peace

without independence in 1778, George Washington called

it a "game more dangerous than their use of arms," be-

cause it preyed on the war-weariness of the people to

surrender at the peace table what his troops had won in

battle.

Hanoi has no such handicap. It comes to the table

caring not for public opinion at home, where it answers

critics with a bullet in the head. This gives the Reds a

tremendous leverage in the bargaining.

By contrast, we know that opinion is broadcast here

for the purpose of defeating our interests and promoting

Hanoi's. The Communist Party operates here under rules

that even protect it from official identification. It has

long been inventing inflammatory "issues" and "de-

mands" to aid Hanoi at the peace table, so designed as

to trick other Americans to join in the baying without

seeing the Communist (ie: enemy) tag on them.

Unless our news media invoke a voluntary censorship

on sideline signal-calling, it is a foregone conclusion that

they will give pro-enemy ploys at home the biggest play

in pur news content, following the rule of "the more sen-

sational, the bigger the audience." Such misemphasis will

distort the portrait of American opinion. This will tend

to handcuff our envoys and encourage Hanoi to demand

all and concede nothing. As our responsible agents are

not apt to go along with any sellout of the lives of our

sons, the war will be prolonged by those who have cried

loudest for a quick settlement at the conference table.

Things are worse because this is an election year ear-

marked by recklessness seldom seen here in this century.

Candidates for high office have been making vague

promises about getting us out of the war—so vague that

neither we nor Hanoi can guess what they mean. We hear

campaign phrases that come through as: "Mr. Johnson

has mismanaged the war, I will give you a different

choice," or, "Vote for me, 1 will do better." But they do

not say, and seem never to be asked, just what the "dif-

ferent choice" will be, or what will be done "better" in

what way. This may be a vague appeal to the war-weari-

ness of the people at home for the sake of personal ambi-

tion. But it is something far more dangerous in Hanoi,

where Ho, whatever else he is, is not stupid.

Do such promises mean that, if elected, such candi-

dates will forsake all past U.S. efTorts in Vietnam, give

the Communists all they ask and hand South Vietnam

over to the inevitable bloodbath? As I wrote this, one

candidate attacked the President's conference site nego-

tiations that settled on Paris next day, while he called for

seating the Vietcong. He echoed enemy demands, hurt

our chance to get concessions for any we might grant.

I am surprised that the news media have not pressed

such candidates to say exactly what they mean and let

us hear their answers. Of all the political questions in

this country, none may be more serious to us now than

what these vague statements, so encouraging to the

enemy, do portend.

Fortunately I can speak this way with my Legion hat

on without charges of partisanship. There are aspirants

to high office in both major parties who have not indulged

in the dangerous game of olTering Hanoi hope of winning

the war at the polls here.

Yet others have made it certain already that any "nego-

tiating" between now and Election Day will be joined

by Hanoi only for propaganda purposes. Ho is more

foolish than I imagine, or worse off militarily, if he will

agree to anything meaningful until he sees if a candidate

is elected who seems to promise to give him all he asks.

This situation alone may postpone any serious negotiat-

ing by at least six months. It may prolong the war and

its bloodshed by at least that much.

The negotiations are no game for amateurs, nor should

any true American, having no responsibility in them,

invite himself in the swim to muddy the waters.


NEWSLETTERVETERANS ~ ~ ~ DIGEST OF EVENTS WHICH~ ~ ~~ ARE OF PERSONAL INTEREST TO YOU

JUNE 1968

U.S. VETERANS ADVISORY COMMISSIONREPORT RELEASED AFTER YEAR-LONGSTUDY OF VETERANS BENEFITS SYSTEM:

The U.S. Veterans Advisory Commis-sion, created by President Johnson todetermine if the federal governmentwas meeting its responsibilities toveterans, recently released thereport of its year-long study . . .

Here are some of the recommenda-tions which the commission feels needurgent attention . . . The basiccompensation rate payable to service-connected totally disabled veteransshould be increased . . . Appropriatecost-of-living increases should bemade in compensation rates to vet-erans with 10-90% disabilities . . .

Improvements should be made in na-tional cemetery administration . . .

Disabled veterans should be allowedto participate in vocational re-habilitation training on less thana full-time basis with pro-rata pay-ments . . . There should be addi-tional dependency indemnity com-pensation (DIG) payable to widows ofwar-killed veterans for each child. . . Basic DIG rate to widows shouldbe increased . . . Vietnam veteransshould be granted complete dentaltreatment for one year after dis-charge ... In addition, the com-mission recommended that the VeteransAdministration be given PresidentialGabinet status and that a SenateVeterans Affairs Committee beestablished.

The commission also came to theseconclusions about the veterans bene-fits system . . . The obligation toprovide for the disabled and needyveteran as well as his dependents isa national commitment . . . Service-disabled veterans should be givenfirst priority . . . Pension paymentsto non-service connected veterans aresoundly based on economic need . . .

Hospital and domiciliary care shouldbe provided for war veterans wherethe veteran is financially unable topay for private hospitalization . . .

Basic veterans benefits should notbe displaced or absorbed by generalwelfare programs . . . The nation'sobligation to disabled and needyveterans should and can be met with-out making excessive demands on the

nation's economy . . . Young veteransreturning from service should begiven full opportunity for rehabili-tation and readjustment . . . Vet-erans programs should be kept currentwith economic standards.

The commission was headed by RobertM. McCurdy, former Legion Nat ' 1 RehabChmn ... It was composed of rehabexperts from all walks of life . . .

They held 11 meetings in ten majorU.S. cities and heard representativesof some 25 million veterans presentmore than 1,400 recommendations . . .

All told, the commission compressedthis mass of testimony into 79 sep-arate recommendations covering thewhole range of veterans benefits.

The Legion agrees with most of thecommission's recommendations— ofwhich 34 are already Legion policyresolutions . . . Some of its con-clusions are already governmentpolicy and the commission's actionconfirmed their soundness.

LEGION URGES INCREASED COMPENSATIONBENEFITS FOR SERVICE-DISABLED VETS:

On April 2, the Legion testifiedbefore a House Vets Affairs subcom-mittee on compensation benefits forservice-disabled veterans . . . Tes-timony covered four specific areas:(1) increased compensation for serv-ice-connected disability (2) equali-zation of compensation according todisability (3) additional compensa-tion for veterans rated less than50% who have dependents and (4)increased rates of payments forcertain anatomical losses and ar-rested tuberculosis.

On these, the Legion (1) called forupping compensation for 100% servicedisabled vets from $300 a month to$400 (2) asked that compensationbenefits below 100% bear the samerelationship to the top dollar figureas the percentage of disability bearsto 100%—i.e., if 100% rates $400,then 50% should rate $200 (3) said itwas unfair to pay additional compen-sation for dependents of a veterangetting 50% disability and not paydependent compensation for thoseunder the 50% disability mark and(4) noted that statutory awards forloss of organs or for service-con-nected tuberculosis had not been in-


CONTINUED

VETERANS NEWSLETTERcreased since June 1952, and askedthat the rates of compensation foreach of these conditions be raised$13 a month, citing increased livingcosts as proof enough of the need.

HOUSE VOTES TO EASE VA HOME LOANPROVISIONS: BILL GOES TO SENATE:

Before a House Vets Affairs sub-committee on Housing, the Legionrecently appeared in favor of legis-lation to repeal the present 6%statutory ceiling on the rate ofinterest on VA guaranteed home loansand increase the maximum VA guaranteeon home loans from $7,500 to $10,000. . . The Legion felt the 6% ratewas unrealistic in today's housingmarket and that veterans would findit more to their advantage if theinterest rate was more flexible andcompetitive with open market rates... A favored interest rate is

little help to veterans if its effectis to make homes unavailable to them. . . Within a few weeks, the Housevoted overwhelmingly to raise theloan limit to $12,500 and remove thelimit on interest rates ... At thiswriting, the legislation is beforethe Senate for consideration.

HOW SIX-MONTH VIETNAM ERA ENLISTEES

MAY QUALIFY FOR LEGION MEMBERSHIP:Some Legion posts are not yet clear

on the qualifications for Legion mem-bership as it pertains to VietnamEra veterans . . . Generally speaking,honorable discharge or separationfrom active duty in the armed forcesat any time since August 5, 1964, willsuffice as eligibility . . . Alsoelig ible for membership is the six-

month enlistee who has concluded histraining and been transferred to theActive Reserve . . . Normally, he thenreceives Form DD-214, a report ofSeparation from the Armed Forces of

the U.S. . . . This form is acceptableas proof of Legion eligibility if it

shows honorable active duty on orafter August 5, 1964.

LEGION TESTIFIES ON NEED FORPLANNED NATIONAL CEMETERY SYSTEM:

On Mar. 26, the Legion testifiedbefore a House subcommittee on ceme-teries in support of HR12801, a billintroduced by House Vets Affairs ChmnOlin league, which calls for transferto the VA of existing national ceme-teries now under the jurisdiction ofother government agencies . . . Thebill would give the VA Administratorauthority and responsibility for the

operation, care and maintenance ofall national cemeteries ... Hewould also be given funds to planand establish a program of expansionof existing cemeteries and the crea-tion of new ones to take care offuture needs . . . Legion testimonycovered the historical precedentswhich contributed to the haphazardgrowth of the present national ceme-tery areas and pointed up the in-ability of the system to meet currentand future needs.

Noted too, was the fact that 20states do not have a national cemeteryand for that reason burial in anational cemetery is denied to manywho would otherwise be qualified.

Basically, the Legion seeks a re-affirmation of the principle that theveteran has earned the right toburial in a national cemetery andthat this right can only be exercisedif there is a national burial placenear his home ... A planned andorderly expanded national cemeterysystem would go a long way towardguaranteeing that right.

VETERANS WITH 100% SERVICE-CONNECTEDDISABILITIES ARE ELIGIBLE FOR POSTEXCHANGE AND COMMISSARY PRIVILEGES:

A veteran with 100% service-con-nected disability is entitled to com-missary and limited post exchangeprivileges—military medical andtheater privileges excepted . . . Hiswife is also eligible or he maydesignate one adult family member ofhis household as an agent ... ALegion service officer or local VAagent can provide details.

LEGION BACKS PASSAGE OF SENATEINTERNAL SECURITY ACT OF 1968:

Noting that the Legion "is deeplyconcerned that interpretation of ex-isting statutes permits employmentof Communists in our state-supportedcolleges and in our defense plants,"Americanism Commission Chmn Daniel J.

O'Connor recently gave the Legion'sposition in support of S2988, theInternal Security Act of 1968 . . .

The bill would amend present securitylaws to close loopholes now existingthat permit conduct in peacetimewhich in wartime would be consideredtreason and sedition ... He alsosaid that "Communist Party member-ship is indeed sufficient evidenceto disqualify from public service anyindividual whose allegiance to theCommunist Party is admitted orproven.

"


NEWS O F T H E

AMERICAN LEGIONJUNE 1968

AND VETERANS AFFAIRS

New York Youth Wins LegionNational Oratorical Contest

John J. Cangilos of Albany, N.Y., wins Legion's toporatory prize of $4,000 scholarship in Minnesota;three other nat'l finalists share additional $4,000.

An 18-year-old Albany, N.Y., youthnamed John Joseph Cangilos has wonthe 1968 American Legion National

High School Oratorical Championshipand the $4,000 college scholarship that

accompanies it in finals held April 1 1

,

1968, at Highland Park Jr. High School,

St. Paul, Minn.

He bested three other 17-year-old

orators—one of them a girl—in the 3 1 st

annual contest worth a total of $8,000

and hosted this year by The AmericanLegion Department of Minnesota.

Sponsored by Fort Orange Post 30 of

Albany, young Cangilos won local, de-

partment. Regional 2 and Sectional Acontests before coming to the national

finals. The self-assured young orator^

—

a senior at Albany's Vincentian Institute

—also picked up a $2,500 college schol-

arship at the N.Y. Department finals.

The son of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Can-gilos (his father is with the New York

Attorney-General's office in Albany)young John is a multi-talented boy. Hewas vice president of his freshman class

and historian of his junior class. He is

president of the National Honor Society

in his school, active in debating and a

member of the Liberal Arts Club. Ath-

letically, the husky youth is a Red CrossLife Saver and senior lifeguard. Artis-

tically, he is a pianist and organist. Heplans to attend either Boston College or

Holy Cross after graduation and is point-

ing toward a career in teaching.

Cangilos and the other three finalists

each had to deliver an eight-to-ten min-ute prepared oration on the U.S. Con-stitution and then speak ofi'-the-cuff for

three-to-five minutes on a constitutional

subject which is given to them only five

minutes before they are required to talk

on it. Cangilos' prepared theme was "TheConstitution: A Declaration of Social

Awareness."

1968 Nat'l Membership Soars; Gain

For Year Expected To Exceed 40,000

As of May 3, 1968, Legionnational membership stood at

2,492,123—only 93,079 behind1967's year-end total of 2,585,202and 30,355 ahead of this date last

year.

In contributing to this amazingfigure, seven of the Legion's 58 de-

partments surpassed their 1967totals and 21 of them have already

achieved their 1968 goals.

If membership continued at this

pace it is anticipated the Legionwould equal or go beyond its 1967gain of 31,420 members more than1966.

Oratorical finalists in order of their finish at St. Paul. (L. to r.) John J. Cangilos, N.Y.,1st place, $4,000; Jody A. Hovland, Minn., 2nd place, $2,500; James H. Winkler,

Ore., 3rd place, $1,000; Kenneth B. Raigins, Miss., 4th place, $500.

Basically, the enlire oratorical pro-

gram is designed to test the high school

student's depth of knowledge on the

basic principles of our constitutionalform of government. Other objectives

are to develop leadership and the ability

to think and speak clearly as well as in-

telligently.

Young Cangilos will be presented to

the Legion National Convention along

with other Legion program representa-

tives Sept. 6-12 at New Orleans. He is

also scheduled to speak at both the

Democratic and Republican National

Conventions this year.

The other three finalists shared an ad-

ditional $4,000 in college scholarships:

• Second place winner of the $2,500 col-

lege scholarship is Miss Jody A. Hov-land of Ada, Minn., a senior at the high

school there and active in both school

and extra-curricular activities. Thedaughter of Mr, and Mrs. LawrenceHovland, Jody was sponsored by Simon-son-Betcher Post 26 of the Legion andplans to attend the University of NorthDakota. She is considering a career in

speech and theater arts. On her way to

the finals Jody won the Sectional C, Re-gional 9 and local and department con-

tests.

• Third place winner is James H. Wink-ler of Portland, Oregon. He won a

$1,000 college scholarship and hopes to

attend an Ivy League college with a view

toward a career in law and politics.

Winkler won the Sectional D and Re-

gional 1 1 contests along with local and

department orations. The son of Mr. andMrs. Jack Winkler of Portland, he wassponsored by Columbia Power Post 120

of the Legion. He is a senior at Grant


NEWS

Nat'l Cmdr William E. Galbraith (r.) presents a clieck to Frank Goffio, vice presi-

dent of CARE, Inc., as part of the Legion's "Stitch-In-Time" program at N.Y. De-

partment Banquet in Cmdr's honor. CARE will act for the Legion and distribute

30 specially-designed sewing machines to the war widows of S. Vietnam—thus bring-

ing the Legion's donations to the Vietnamese people up to the $130,000 level.

N.Y. Dep't Cmdr Ed Delehanty stands at left. More than 500 Legion leaders fromN.Y. and neighboring states attended function held at N.Y. City's Hotel Commodore.

High School and active both in and out

of school. He was President of the Sen-

ate at 1967 Oregon Boys State.

• Fourth place winner is Kenneth B.

Raigins, the son of Mr. and Mrs. James

A. Raigins of Prairie, Miss. James is a

senior at Aberdeen High School Aber-

deen, Miss. He won a $500 college schol-

arship. Ken was sponsored by Daniel W.Bird Post 26 of Aberdeen and was also

a representative to the Mississippi Boys

State in 1967 at which he was elected

Clerk of the House of Representatives.

He's active in politics and debating at his

high school. Young Raigins won the Sec-

tional B, Regional 6 and local and de-

partment contests before reaching the

national finals.

Since 1938, more than $220,000 in

cash scholarships have been dispensed at

the national level of the Legion. Manymore thousands of dollars in cash and

scholarships have been awarded by other

levels of the Legion.

New Nat'l Finance ChmnChurchill T. Williams of Oelwein,

Iowa, has been named chairman of TheAmerican Legion's National Finance

Commission. He succeeds Harold P.

Redden of Longmeadow, Mass., who re-

signed for personal reasons after having

served as a member of the commission

since 1947 and as its chairman since

1955.

In naming Williams, who has been a

commission member since 1958 andvice-chairman since 1963, Nat'l Cmdr


William E. Galbraith said: "The Ameri-

can Legion owes a deep debt of gratitude

to Harold Redden for the long and faith-

ful service he has given to our organiza-

tion in this vital position, and it is with

profound regret that we accept his res-

ignation. At the same time, we consider

ourselves most fortunate to have a manof the character and capabilities of

'Church' Williams to assume this great

responsibility."

Mr. Redden, who was Massachusetts

Williams

Department Adjutant from 1931-38, andNat'l Vice Cmdr in 1940-41, has re-

signed as both chairman and member of

the commission but will act as the Na-tional Commander's representative. LeoV. Lanning of Eggertsville, N.Y., a vet-

eran member of the commission, steps upas vice-chairman.

The new finance commission chair-

man is president of the Oelwein State

Bank in Oelwein and is a member of

Ross Reid Post 9 of that town since 1945.

Mr. Williams served five years as de-

partment finance chairman, a year as de-

partment Americanism chairman andwas Iowa Department Commander in

1955-56. On the national level he has

also served as member and vice-chair-

man of the Nat'l Membership and Post

Activities Committee, has been a mem-ber of the Legion Endowment FundCorp., since 1962, and is an ex-officio

member of the Legion's 50th Anni-versary committee.

During WW2, he served in the ArmyAir Corps in the South Pacific, partici-

pated in 25 bombing missions, andearned the Silver Star and the Air Medalamong other decorations.

"Color the Flag" Contests

A poster coloring program—"Colorthe Flag"—is being offered to school

children as part of Nat'l Cmdr WilliamE. Galbraith's Freedom Is Not Free cru-

sade. Local Legion posts make copies of

the poster and distribute them to schools,

where they are issued to the first four

grades.

Post 9, Spokane, Wash., undertook

the project under the direction of CmdrR. James Bullivant, Americanism ChmnC. L. Smith, and PC P. O. Abraham,principal of Stadium School.

Post 31, Boulder City, Nev., con-

ducted the program with the aid of

school official Andrew Mitchell and his

Winners of Color the Flag contest.

staff. Posters were given to over 400 first-

to-fourth graders after they had seen the

film. Flags of the United States. In the

photo above, Post Cmdr Richard Patter-

son presents a certificate of appreciation

to Mr. Mitchell, principal of Boulder

City Elementary School, as some of the

16 winners, with prize flags, look on.

Post 1562, Brooklyn, N.Y., gave a

transistor radio set to each of ten stu-

Awards from Post 1562, Brooklyn, N.Y.

NEWS

dents of St. Brigid's School and P.S. 81,

both in Ridgewood. These were prizes

in a Color the Flag contest. In the photo(opposite page) Post Cmdr John J. Viola

is flanked by the winners.

50th Anniversary Projects

Kentucky Legion honors Maurice Gordon.

On March 15, in cooperation with the

Kentucky Historical Society, a markerwas dedicated by the Dep't of Kentuckyto the City of Madisonville and to Maj.Maurice K. Gordon, who gave TheAmerican Legion its name at the Paris

Caucus, March 15-17, 1919. "After the

ceremony," writes Dep't Adj. Ray Beyer,

"accompanied by William F. Taylor,

Dep't Cmdr, and Everett Policy, cmdrof Hopkins County Post 6, we visited

retired Judge Gordon at his home in

Madisonville. At 91, it is remarkablehow well he keeps abreast of the activi-

ties of our organization." In the photoabove are (1. to rt.) Mayor David Parish

of Madisonville; Dep't Cmdr William F.

Taylor of Greensburg; Marvin Odom of

the Color Guard; William Davis, MD;and Everett PoUey (seated), cmdr. Post

6, Madisonville.

Post 60, Dorchester, Mass., celebrated

the Legion's 50th Anniversary with a

Testimonial Breakfast and honored 32past commanders who were celebrating

50 years in the Legion. Each received a

gold button commemorating his service.

State and city officials attended.

Post 20, CofFeyville, Kans., invited its

46 50-year members and their wives to

an awards dinner (29 showed up—see

photo below) for presentation of 50-year

cards and pins, certificates, and a patch

for the hat.

Post 29, Miami, Fla., used a highly

polished honor guard dress saber to cut

the giant birthday cake (the post has

2,700 members). The birthday emphasisis on community service programs.

The Dep't of New Hampshire held ananniversary ball at the Gilford CountryClub which drew Legionnaires from all

over the state.

Tennessee Governor Buford Ellington

was appointed honorary chairman of the

State Advisory Committee of the Anni-versary observance, and was presented a

plaque signifying his work with the or-

ganization. In the photo below are (1. to

rt.) Ivo W. Sanders, Dep't Cmdr; the

Governor; and Joe Hudgens, anniversary

chairman and State Director of the Di-

vision of Veterans Affairs.

Tennessee Gov. Ellington gets a "job."

Post 194, Rising Sun, Md., celebrated

with 27 WWl guests plus Dep't CmdrStanley King, Past Cmdrs E. L. Wams-ley and Wallace Wilhams, Dep't Adju-tant Daniel Burkhardt, and Mrs. MarionParks, a WWl nurse with a 50th con-secutive year card.

Post 278, Stanhope, N.J., voted to

present all its WWl members a life mem-bership in the Legion.

Post 7, Silverton, Ore., got the town's

merchants to sponsor a full page ad in

the newspaper, headlined "A Salute to

the America of Tomorrow." All the

sponsors were listed, as were the post's

50-year members (including those de-

ceased) and past commanders. Space wasgiven to the Auxiliary and to the OpenHouse program. The Legion's past, pres-

ent and future were commented on.

The enthusiasm and sincerity of the

Legion-wide anniversary celebrations are

exemplified by Oregon's Gov. Tom Mc-Call, in photo above, right hand column.A member of Salem Post 136, he signed

A big turnout of 50-year Legionnaires at Post 20, Coffeyville, Kans.

Oregon Gov. McCall kicks off the 50th.

the 50th Anniversary proclamation to

spark the Department's kick-off celebra-

tion and was given a plaque in apprecia-

tion of his efforts.

Legion Vietnam Back-upA star-studded K.P. task force gave

some 300 Viet vets a royal dinner eve-

ning at the Washington, D.C., U.S.O.headquarters. ANAVICUS (a Canadianveterans organization) Legionnaires serv-

ing the chow and doing K.P. duty after-

ward included three generals and a col-

onel (Harry Vaughn, Louis Renfrew,Bob Eaton, and Frank Kossa); Past Nat'l

Cmdr Earle Cocke; Edward F. Mc-Ginnis, former Sergeant-at-Arms, U.S.

Senate; and James V. Day, Federal

Maritime Commissioner. Leader of the

K.P. detail was Lt. Gen. Lewis Hershey,

president of ANAVICUS and head of

U.S. Selective Service.

Taking up an idea offered by its Com-rade Charles Herring, Post 10, Wilming-ton, N.C., through Post Cmdr H. G.Grohman, sent over 100 letters to local

Vietnam servicemen and women. Her-ring also asked local merchants to sub-

scribe to the Star News in the names of

the servicemen, and to display photos of

these individuals.

NEW POSTSThe American Legion has recently

chartered the following new posts:

Opp Post 74, Opp, Ala.; MountainBrook Post 75, Mountain Brook, Ala.;

Madison Post 229, Madison, Ala.; Gun-ter Mountain Post 245, Grant, Ala.;

Guntersville Post 354, Guntersville,Ala.; South Haven Post 502, SouthHaven, Ind.; Willie Davis Post 594,

Gretna, La.; Elizabeth Township Post

115, Elizabeth Township, Pa.; Battle

Creek Post 303, Hermosa, S. Dak.; Dun-canville Post 81, Duncanville, Tex.;

Hooks Post 167, Hooks, Tex.; CopperasCove Post 582, Copperas Cove, Tex.;

and Cobb Town Post 183, Franklin, Va.


The 49*"^ National ExecutiveThe 49tli National Executive Committee of TheAmerican Legion lield its annual spring meeting at

National headquarters in Indianapolis, Ind., as this

issue went to press. Shown on these two pages are

the 1967-68 representatives. Of the 65 members, 58are from state and foreign departments and wereelected by their department conventions. The remain-

ing seven are the elected national officers: The Na-tional Commander, five National Vice Commanders,and the National Chaplain. The National Commanderserves as chairman of the Committee. Living Past

National Commanders (not shown) are also life

members of the committee but without vote.

WiHiam E. Galbraith

National CommanderRev. Fr. Edward P. Nolan

National Chaplain

Hugh W. Overton

Alahama

George Petrovich

Alaska

Robert E. Cockrill

Arizona

Lavirrence E. Fisher

Arkansas

William K. Kreitz

California

Arthur M. MacCarthy

Florida

Walter E. Lindquist

France

W. D. Harrell

Georgia

Wallace C. S. Young

Hawaii

Bob W. Knudsen

Idaho

Bob Nooner

Illinois

Maurice R. Parisien

Maine

Robert E. L. Eaton

Maryland

Gabriel T.OIga

Massachusetts

Harry Wright

Mexico

Marshall M. Taylor

Michigan

Eugene V. Lindquist

Minnesota

Edmund G. Lyons

New Jersey

G. Y. Fails

New Mexico

Louis E. Drago

New York

Leroy S. Lakey

North Carolina

Patrick T. Milloy

North Dakota

Joseph S. Deutschle, Sr.

Ohio

John A. Ryer

Rhode Island

E. Roy Stone

South Carolina

Glenn R. Green

South Dakota

Benton Crump

Tennessee

J. Walter Janko

Texas

William E. Christoffersen

Utah


Committee of The American Legion

Coleman Nolen

National Vice Commander

Louis R. J. Malo


Roscoe D. Curtiss


Dr. Edwin L. Peterson


Marvin V^. Roth


Cooper L. Williams

Canada

Robert Grauberger

Colorado

Joseph G. Leonard

Connecticut

Frank A. Lucia

Delaware

John J. Finn

District of Columbia

Charles S. Boehm

Indiana

Robert Lounsberry

Iowa

Sexson Humphreys, Italy

Died March 3. 1968U. S. Grant

Kansas

Harry A. Greene

Kentucky

Ralph M. Godwin

Mississippi

Frank H. Strong

Missouri

William A. Lindsay

Montana

Jerome HennNebraska

Thomas W.Miller

Nevada

W. H. Redman

Oklahoma

W. E. Wilkins

Oregon

Romeo J. Routhier

Panama Canal ZoneDaniel A. Drew

Pennsylvania

Robert 0. Phillips

Philippines

Albert B. Grazini

Vermont

Sam T. A. Crawford

Virginia

Gordon Blechschmidt

Washington

L. 0. Bickel

West Virginia

Frank R. Schneider

Wisconsin

M. C. Gehr

Louisiana

Raymond F. Mudge

New Hampshire

Juan H. Cintron

Puerto Rico

C. B. Metz

Wyoming


NEWS.

POSTS IN ACTION

Gifts from Post 28, Wis.

More and more posts are utilizing the

book, "The American Legion Story," as

a gift to schools, libraries, individuals,

etc. Post 28, Valders, Wis., gave twocopies to the high school library, along

with a continuous subscription to TheAmerican Legion Magazine. In the

photo above are 1. to rt.: Post Adjutant

Gorman Lex, Jr.; H.S. Principal Alvin

Glaeser; Mrs. Raymond Christianson,

librarian: and William O'Neil, Jr., Post

Cmdr.The Dep't of Pennsylvania's Central

Judicial Division gave a copy of the bookto the Martin Memorial Library of York,

in memory of the late Earl R. Sollen-

berger, a Central District vice cmdr,

22nd District cmdr, and Past Cmdr of

York Post 127. In the photo below are

From the Central Judicial Div., Pa.

the library director, Mrs. Katherine A.

Shorey; 22nd District Cmdr Harry P.

Reed; Post 127 Cmdr John R. Reary;

and 22nd District Deputy Cmdr Robert

I. Black of Post 127.

cation concerned with the reporting of

Communist activities.

Post 74, Fairfield, Conn., each year

sends 70-100 pounds of used postage

stamps to VA hospitals where they are

needed for therapy. The post StampClub meets monthly with about 40 mem-bers attending of the 100 in the Clubwith exhibits, quizzes and speakers to

enliven the meetings. On one occasion,

a city-wide United Nations junior andsenior exhibit was held in conjunction

with UN Day, and a branch UN Post

Office was opened. The post got a UNcitation for the excellence of the pro-

gramming.

Post 799, Buffalo, N.Y., co-sponsored

with the Manufacturers' and Traders'

Trust Co. the First Day of Issue cere-

monies of the booklet pane of the FrankLloyd Wright stamp of the current U.S.

postage stamp. Prominent AmericanSeries.

An award for Post 119, St. Paul, Neb.

For distinguished service to the com-munity. Post 119, St. Paul, Neb., wasgiven a plaque by the Chamber of Com-merce. The post supports a busy pro-

gram which includes Boy Scouts, Boys'

State, County Government, Oratorical

and Essay Contests, and Legion Base-

ball, and last year spent about $2,500 onthese efforts. In the photo above, Ne-braska Dep't Cmdr Bob Lowry (right)

presents plaque to Post 119 CmdrRoland E. Reynolds.

Post 19, York, Neb., gave the York Cen-

tennial Hospital Campaign a pledge for

$50,000. In the photo below at the

pledge signing are (seated, 1. to rt.): Post

Cmdr Welden Duer and Post Adjutant

Kenneth Klute. Standing are 2nd VC

Instructor William Wilson directs RossKeiper as he sights a .22 caliber bolt

action rifle at the indoor range of Post314, Lehighton, Pa., Junior Rifle Club.

Scarsdale Post 52, N.Y., broke ground

for a new $130,000 post home expected

to be completed by July of this year.

WWl vet H. H. Costain is post cmdr.

The Memorial Committee of Post 76,

Racine, Wis. (photo below) officiates

at funerals of all veterans when asked

to do so, has served in as many as four

in one day and in 85 in the past year,

and furnishes the bugler when re-

quested. Post 76, composed only of

WWl vets, gave to the City of Racine,

at a cost .of $8,000, the monument which

backgrounds the photo.

A $50,000 pledge from Post 19, Neb.

Howard Anderson, 1st VC Buck Dough-erty, and Legion Club Manager Clark

Grobe.

Post 21, Philadelphia, Pa., awarded 24 ^vf^',Ip

Life Memberships to members with 25 ormore years of consecutive membership.

Post 439, Saginaw, Mich., made a mul-

tiple gift to 14 high schools. Each school

got: "The American Legion Story,"

"Need A Lift," a list of scholarship op-

portunities, rules for the Legion's Nat'l

Oratorical Contest, and a subscription

to The Firing Line, the Legion's publi-


The Memorial Committee, Post 76, Wis., served at over 85 funerals in past year.

Post 248, Minn.: 35 charter members

Post 248, Ely, Minn., has 35 memberswith continuous membership since the

post was chartered in 1919. In total, the

Ely post had 607 members in mid-Feb-

ruary, which is 10% of the population

of Ely. Above are 25 of the 35 memberswho have paid dues for 50 years, posing

with Cmdr Arnold Riikola.

BRIEFLY NOTEDMorris Horowitz, of Post 229, Utica,

N.Y., reports that his son, Lt. Cmdr.Charles Horowitz, has been awarded the

Silver Star with Combat V, the nation's

third highest award for valor, for his out-

standing performance with the joint

Army-Navy Riverine Force in Vietnam's

Mekong Delta. He earned the medal

while serving as commander of River

Assault Sqdn. 9 as it was operating in

support of elements of the 9th Inf. Div.'s

2nd Brigade, June 19-21, 1967.

A bomb exploded outside the Paris,

France, Post 1 building shortly before

2:30 a.m., Paris time, April 16, damag-

ing the entrance. No other details were

immediately available.

Children in the Prairie State will benefit

because of a membership promotion by

the Dep't of Illinois in its Golden 50

Caravan membership program. Three

districts enrolling the greatest percentage

of last year's membership (over 70%

)

will each be awarded a 23-inch TV set

—the set to be given to a children's homeof the district's choice.

Harry K. Stinger (right in photo below).

Past Nat'l Executive Committeeman. re-

Two awards for distinguished service

ceives the Distinguished Service Awardfrom the United Veterans Council of

Philadelphia for his many years of serv-

ice to vets and their dependents. UVC

THE AMERICAN LEGIONNATIONAL HEADQUARTERS

MARCH 31. 1968

ASSETSCash on hand and on Deposit $ 2,386,830.58

Receivable 216,237.16

Inventories 491,713.53

Invested Funds 3,247,637.42

Trust Funds :

Overseas Graves DecorationTrust Fund 290,723.30

Employees RetirementTrust Fund -4,108,439.25 4,399,162.55

Real Estate 821,521.81

Furniture & Fixtures, Less Depreciation 321,517.46

Deterred Charges 89.062.42

$11.973.682.93

LIABILITIES, DEFERRED REVENUE& NET WORTH

Current Liabilities $ 600,175.10

Funds Restricted as to use 21,375.35

Deferred Income 2.213,992.73

Trust Funds :

Overseas Graves DecorationTrust Fund 290,723.30

Employees RetirementTrust Fund 4,108.439.25 4,399,162.55

Net Worth:Reserve Fund 553,809.81Restricted Fund 1,212,104.87

Real Estate 821,521.81Reserve for Rehabilitation 347.599.59Reserve for Child Welfare 113.715.59

Reserve for Convention .... 60.000.00

Reserve for Publication .... 12,258.78

Reserve for 50th

Anniversary 92,089.78

3,243.100.26

Unrestricted Capital 1 .495,876.94 4,738.977.20

Sll.973.682.93

NEWS1968 at a dinner sponsored by the Cham-ber of Commerce. He currently serves

his post as Adjutant and Service Officer.

Adrian H. Johnson, of Winnipeg, Man.,

Canada, new Dep't Adjutant of Canada.

i»!l3i»M

O. D. Freeman, of Loris, S.C., Past

Dep't Cmdr (1950-51) and Alternate

Nat'l Exec. Committeeman, 1953-57.

B

J. Nelson Tribby, of Baltimore, Md., a

general member of the Nat'l Member-ship and Post Activities Committee andPast Dep't Adjutant (1936-49).

Joe S. Mann, of Whiteville, N.C., a vice

chairman of the Nat'l AmericanismCouncil.

B

Clyde E. Rankin, of Philadelphia, Pa.,

Past Dep't Cmdr (1946-47) and a mem-ber of the Nat'l Finance Commissionfrom 1951-1963.

Adjutant C. J. Knight, Jr., made the

presentations to Stinger and orchestra

leader Les Brown (left), who has mademany war zone trips with Bob Hope.

Legionnaires of Post 1, Stockholm, Swe-den, are publicly urging U.S. military

deserters in Sweden to go home, take

their punishment, and get back on their

feet as American citizens.

PEOPLE IN THE NEWSGeorge Mead, the Dep't of New York's

Director of Rehabilitation and Director

of Boys' State since its start, retired offi-

cially at the close of the WashingtonConference. He is carrying on the Boys'

State operation for this year. George has

also been involved with the supervision

of Legion Baseball. At recent Dep't Ex-

ecutive Committee sessions, George washonored by all Past Dep't Cmdrs andother Legion officials, receiving citations

from National and his Department and

a cash gift. Having made his home in

Buffalo all these years (396 miles by rail)

and flying there for weekends, Georgewill go "home" for his retirement.

B

John M. Carey, of Grand Blanc, Mich.,

Past Nat'l Executive Committeeman(1965-67), appointed by Gov. GeorgeRomney to the Board of Managers of

the Michigan Veterans Facility. He wasalso given the Flint Industrial Executive

Club's Personal Achievement Award for

outstanding community leadership.

B

Lee A. Lemos, of Riverside, R.I., Past

Nat'l Vice Cmdr (1957-58), given the

East Providence Brotherhood Award for

THE AM

Louis Summers, ol Atlanta, Ga., Past

Dep't Cmdr (1944-45).

B

Calvin R. Sanders, of Phoenix, Ariz.,

Past Dep't Cmdr (1954-55) and a mem-ber of the Nat'l Executive Committee in

1956-60.

William V. Koeninger, of Winnipeg,

Man., Canada, Dep't Adjutant of Can-

ada.

a

Kenneth L. Greenquist, of Racine, Wis.,

Past Dep't Cmdr (1951-52) and a mem-ber of the Nat'l Executive Committee

in 1952-54.

B

William O. Nelson, of Anderson, Ind.,

Past Dep't Cmdr (1932-33).

a

Mrs. Mabel E. McHale, of Indianapolis,

Ind., wife of Frank M. McHale, former

Democratic Nat'l Committeeman from

Indiana, Past Dep't Cmdr ( 1 927-28), and

Nat'l Exec. Committeeman 1928-29.

OUTFIT REUNIONSReunion will be held in month indicated. For

particulars, write person whose address is

given.Notices accepted on official form only. For

form send stamped, addressed return envelopeto O. R. Form, American Legion Magazine,720 Fifth Ave., New York, N.Y. 10019. Noticesshould be received at least five months beforescheduled reunion. No written letter necessaryto get form.

Earliest submission favored when volume ofrequests is too great to print all.

ARMY1st Cav Div— (Aug.) Dr. Carl Milchen, 303 W.San Bernardino Rd., Covina, Calif. 91722

3rd Div— (July) James R. Brant, 2001 N. AdamsSt., Arlington, Va. 22201

24th Field Hosp—(July) Lowell O. Duncan,15544 Levan Rd., Livonia, Mich. 48154

26th Div—(June) S. Opedisano, 61 WinthropSt., Springfield, Mass.

34th Div— (Sept.) Curtis M. Larsen, 35 N. 1st

St., Apt. 19, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51501

RICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • JUNE 1968 41

NEWS42nd Div (WWI & 2)— (July) Theodore A.Johnson, 2315 Linden Dr. S.E., Cedar Rapids.Iowa 52403

51st Pioneer Inf (WWI)— (Sept.) Otto Rauch,186 Adams St.. Dehiiar. N.Y. 12054

54th Sig Bn— (Aug.) Willard Harris. 5075 E.Olive. Fresno. Calif. 93700

65th Div—(Aug.) Fred J. Cassata, 123 Dor-chester Rd.. Buffalo. N.Y. 14213

69th Sig Bn— (July) Alton W. Cliff. 20 WheldonSt., Scottsville. N.Y. 14546

87th Inf (WWI & 2)— (Sept.) Philip Marotta.P. O. Box 162. Solvay. N.Y. 13209

103rd Div.— (July) J. E. Dacey. 900 Mac DadeBlvd.. Apt. 9. Folsom, Pa. 19033

103rd Med Bn & Reg't— (Sept.) Robert F. Gold-smith. 37 Farmbrook Dr.. Levittown, Pa.

109th Eng. Co B (WWI)— (Aug.) H. S. Sey-mour. 708 Kilpatrick Bldg.. Omaha. Nebr.

110th QM—(Aug.) Roe M. Gordon. 2816 N. 69th,Omaha. Neb. 68104

132nd Gen Hosp— (Sept.) John J. Schoeph, 907N. 18th Ave.. Melrose Park. 111. 60160

147th Field Art'y, Co M, Bat F (WWI)— (Sept.)Sterling Scroggins. P.O. Box 115. SheboyganFalls. Wise. 53085

148th Arm'd Sig Co— (Sept.) George A.L'Homme. 565 Boswell Ave.. Norwich. Conn.

152nd Inf, Co L (WW2)— (Aug.) Ralph C.Lichtenwalter. 425 S. High St.. Warsaw, Ind.

152nd Inf, Co M—(Aug.) Mrs. Leo Thompson.Outer S. Main St.. Princeton. Ind. 47570

162nd Inf— (July) William J. Fague. HamletRoute Box 49F. Seaside, Ore. 97138

163rd Inf Keg't— (July) Thomas P. Campbell,313 N.W. 6th St.. Pendleton, Ore. 97801

185th Anti-Tank— ( July) Maurice L. Phelps,Rt. 1 Box 169. Sun Prairie, Wis. 53590

186th Inf Retj't— ( July) C. A. Fertig, RFD 1Box 518, Warrenton, Ore. 97146

190th Field Arfy (WW2)— (July) Mel Sober,P.O. Box 361, Sunburv, Pa. 17801

201st AAA, Co B (WW2)— (Aug.) Herbert G.Bianchi. 53 Union St., Moosup, Conn. 06354

205th Field Art'y, Bat A— (July) Bill Carlson,Rt. 3 Box 191. Astoria. Ore. 97103

213th Coast Art'y AA, Bat D (WW2)— (Sept.)Joe Dagon. 136 E. St. Joseph St.. Easton, Pa.

218th Field Art'y (WW2)— (July) Lloyd E.Bryant, Rt. 1 Box 173, Eagle Creek, Ore. 97022

267th QM Bakery Co— (July) Jack A. Palmer,1968 Middle Bellville Rd.. Mansfield, Ohio

273rd Field Art'y Bn (WW2)— (Aug.) Aubrey L.Hutchison, 411 Lacy. Independence. Mo. 64050

274th Arm'd Field Art'y Bn— (July) WilliamBankovich. 6259 Columbus Rd. N.E.. Louis-ville. Ohio 44641

308th Eng (WWI)—(Aug.) Leo C. Brown, 49Drury St., Dayton. Ohio 45403

308th Motor Supply Train (WWI)—(Aug.) Nor-man A. Rebillot. 909—8th St. N.W.. Canton,Ohio 44703

309th Ord, MM Co (WW2)— (Aug.) Robert L.Horn, P.O. Box 201, Sterling, Kans. 67579

313th Inf— (July) George Kashmar, 840 E.Philadelphia Ave., Youngstown, Ohio 44502

316th Sta Hosp— (July) Loyd Berrv. 198 Har-ruby Dr.. Calimesa, Calif. 92320

322nd Inf Reg't, 2nd Bn, HQ Co— (July) NickSaad, P.O. Box 1466, Dothan, Ala. 36301

331st Field Art'y, Bat E (WWI)— (July) John J.Brokish. 264 Olive St.. Chippewa Falls. Wise.

343rd Eng, Co C—(Aug.) Russell O. Murten.706 Main St.. Westville, Ind. 46391

351st AA Radar Sit Bn—(June) Philip G. Karg,855 Grove St, S., Hutchinson. Minn. 55350

351st Eng Gen Serv Reg't, H & S Co—(Aug.)D. K. Johnson. 313 S. 26th Ave., Bellwood, 111.

389th AAA Bn— (Aug.) Marshall Deadmon, 206N. Beaver St., Landis, N.C. 28088

410th Inf. Co G— (July) John J. Morris, 1015Locust St.. Suite 905. St. Louis. Mo. 63101

447th AAA Bn—(Aug.) Glenn S. Kreger. M.D..Box 505, Tonkawa, Okla. 74653

480th Ambulance Co (WW2)— (Sept.) RobertM. Adams, Rt. 2, Bardwell, Ky. 42023

516th Field Art'y Bn (WW2)— (Sept.) LeonardAdamo, 1840—85th St., Brooklyn, N.Y. 11214

612th Tank Dest Bn (Europe, WW2)—(Aug.)Jack Flanagan, 101 S. Meadow Dr., GlenBumie, Md. 21061

676th Medical Collecting Co— (Aug.) Charles A.Place, Manunkachunk Rd.. Belvidere, N.J.

719th Kwy Oper Bn (WW2)— (Sept.) Rodney E.Runsteen, 12620 W. Dodge Rd.. Omaha, Nebr.68154

740th AAA Bn— (July) John J. Monaghan. 55Mineral Spring Rd., Buffalo, N.Y. 14210

799th MP Bn (Philippines, WW2)—(Aug.) GailRistau, RFD 1, Scribner, Nebr. 68057

847th Ord Depot Co— (Aug.) Lester G. Myers,602 Long St., Thomasville, N.C. 27360

861st Eng Bn—(Aug.) Daniel Antonacci, 1504N. Salina St., Syracuse, N.Y. 13208

Evac Hosp #8 (WW!)- (Sept.) William K. VanArsdale, 303 North Ave., Greer, S.C. 29651

Fort Robinson, Neb. (All Former Personnel)

—

(July) Fort Robinson Reunion Committee,Crawford, Nebr. 69339

Original 120th— (Sept.) Bertram Keene, 19 Sis-son Ave., Hartford. Conn. 06106

Pugct Sound Warriors, CAC (WWI)— (Sept.)

Joe L. Brown. 2805 S. 50th St.. Omaha. Nebr.World Wars Tank Corps— (July) James L. Ev-

erett. 10704 Eastwood Ave.. Silver Springs,Md. 20901

NAVY31st Special Seabees— ( July ) Charles J. Scharf,

18 N. Colonial Dr.. Hagerstown, Md. 2174062nd Seabees—(Aug.) John Trippel, 1409Blanchan, LaGrange Park, 111. 60525

97th—108th Seabees— (Aug.) William E. Boeh-ner, 8550 New Hampshire. St. Louis. Mo.

Camp Wallace, Texas, Boot Camp, Co 79

—

(Aug.) Joe Scrivano. 535 Sprucewood La.,San Antonio. Tex. 78216

Great Lakes NT Sta. Co. 17 (19.39)— (Aug.)Gerald W. Wagner. RR #1, Woolstock. Iowa

LST 177— (July) Vincient Mongiello. 345 W.Venango St.. Mercer. Pa. 16137

LST 573—(Aug.) Paul Moyemont. 130 W. Wau-pansie. Dwight. 111. 60420

USS Hyman (DD732, Commissioning Crew)—(June) Willis H. Webber. 19 Crestwood Cir-cle. Norwood. Mass. 02062

USS Indiana (BB58)— ( July ) Adam S. Sosnow-ski, 7412 Henry Ave., Philadelphia, Pa. 19128

USS J. C. Owens (DD776, Sept. 1950 to Feb.1952)— (Aug.) Frank M. Dziekan, 724 MillSt., Plymouth, Pa. 18651

USS Mount Vernon (WWI)—(Sept.) William J.McKee. 422 High St.. West Medford, Mass.

USS Northampton (CA 26)—(Aug.) S. T.Kinard, 1537 Chowkeebin Nene, Tallahassee,Fla. 32301

AIR19th Bomb Gp/Wing— ( Aug.) Dean Anholt,3441 Pinehurst Circle, Springfield, Mo. 65804

32nd Bomb Sqdn (H)—(Aug.) Samuel J. Braun.1319 E. 156th St., South Holland, 111. 60473

43rd Air Serv Sqdn—(Aug.) Max G. Taylor,606 Locust St., LaPorte City. Iowa 50651

65th & 91st Serv Gps— (Sept.) Vernon J. Cizek.Germania. Pa. 16922

138th Aero Sqdn (WWD— (Sept.) Joseph P.LaFond. 321 Charles St.. Woodburn, Ore.

210th Aero Sqdn (WWI)—(Aug.) A. F. Deaney,1045 CoUingwood Dr., Indianapolis, Ind. 46208

397th Bomb Gp (WW2)— (July) Paul Cohen,153 N. 7th St., Lindenhurst, N.Y. 11757

409th Bomb Gp (L, WW2)— (July) William D.Braucher, 289 Cheyenne Dr., Westerville,Ohio 43081

463rd Aero Sqdn (WWI)— (Sept.) W. B. Scar-row, .324 W. 11th St., Goodland, Kans. 67735

MISCELLANEOUS342nd Mach Gun Bn, Cos A & B (So. Dakota,WWD— (Aug.) Bill Fix, Box 550, Parkston,

S.D. 57366Payne Field, West Point, Miss. (1918, All Per-sonnel)—(Aug.) Bob McRaney, WROB Bldg.,West Point, Miss. 39773

Vets of AEF/Siberia (Southwestern Unit 1)—(Sept.) Lynn A. McQuiddy, 6034 S. La BreaAve., Los Angeles, Calif. 90056

LIFE MEMBERSHIPSThe award of a life membership to a Legion-

naire by his Post is a testimonial by those whoknow him best that he has served The Ameri-can Legion well.Below are listed some of the previously un-

published life membership Post awards thathave been reported to the editors. They arearranged by States or Departments.

Harry V. Bene and Thomas B. Blaine andJohn S. Bolin and John Borck and Robert I.

Brassel (all 1967), Post 1, Phoenix, Ariz.Hayward Munro and Geo. W. Nichols and

Elmer H. Orr (all 1967), Post 73, Montrose, Colo.Albert H. Iversen (1967), Post 128, Niantic,

Conn.Howard M. Quillen and Irwin R, Rowe and

Donald E. Webster, Sr. and Wilmer F. Williams(all 1967), Post 29, Stanton, Del.George W. Prichard (1964) and Wayne L.

Loomis (1967). Post 129, Onawa. Iowa.M. L. Maupin and C. H. Towne (both 1967),

Post 662, Sergeant Bluff, Iowa.Errol W. Brawn and Clarence G. Cushman

and Emmons E. Davis (all 1968), Post 29,Dover-Foxcroft, Maine.Edward A. DeWitt (1967), Post 194, Hamilton,

Mass.Roswell A. Burr and Harold O. Noling and

William F. Wiebeck (all 1965). Post 97, Adrian,Mich.Andrew Columbo and Charles Deutsch and

John Linden and Harry Middleton (all 1967).Post 327, Marble, Minn.Howard R. Tyson (1967), Post 6, Corinth,

Miss.Walter Bauman and William J. Drury and

John F. Eisenbeis (all 1967), Post 150, Ste.Genevieve, Mo.

Edwin D. McCuddy, Sr. and Victor C. Mc-Morris and Fred J. Matzenbacher and LeatonA. Milligan (all 1968), Post 154, Wellston, Mo.John M. Ward, Sr. (1966) and Hugo A.

Olderog (1967). Post 32, Papillion, Nebr.Joseph Beaucage and Harry J. Burley and

Frank B. Dayton and Ellard DeVane and JamesDiskm, Sr. (all 1967), Post 42, Chatham, N.Y.Wilham A. McNally (1965) and Waldo P. Hair

(1967), Post 303. Rockville Centre, N.Y,Carl Potter (1967). Post 358. Pulaski. N.Y.Archie Beaton and O. B. Bernhoft and Harry

Carlson and Edward Kibler and Ross Mcintosh(all 1967), Post 11, Cavalier, N. Dak.Herbert O. Reetz (1967), Post 98, Langdon,

N. Dak.Ray E. Parks and John D. Powell and Thomas

H. Purdy (all 1967), Post 80, Covington, Ohio.Carl W. Pribble (1966) and Raymond Deeren

and Charles Gollop and Arthur J, Haymanand Dwight R. Nicholson (all 1967), Post 116.Byesville, Ohio.Albert Carrigan and Clarence Cox and Bert

Gibson and William Hopkins (all 1966), Post124, Geneva, Ohio.Clement C, Dombrowski and Adam A. Kicz

and Felix Wachowiak (all 1967), Post 545, To-ledo. Ohio.Tom Wilson (1967). Post 34, North Bend,

Ore.Arthur Haeberle (1967), Post 566, Glenolden,

Pa.Ellis R. Fox and J. Oliver Friese and Hobart

G. Gilbert and Thomas J. Gilbert (all 1968).Post 612. St. Thomas. Pa.Nepomuceno Sampaga (1967), Post 10,

Manila, P. I.

^ Ramon Shih I. Sheng (1967), Post 25, Manila,

Ned W. Skelton (1967), Post 22, Union, S.C.Charles Kula (1964) and A. L. Combellick

and Edwin Eliason and Vern Johnson andOwens Kearns (all 1966), Post 135, Gettysburg,S. Dak.Leo V. Mathes (1967), Post 37, McAllen, Tex.Charlie E. Eubank and S. A. Johnson, Sr.

and L. W. Long and A. H. Smith and P. A.Strum (all 1967), Post 50, Crewe, Va.Samuel R. Millar, Jr. and Lewin I. Poe and

Bryan Rudacille and Tip C. Saffell and WorthieC. Swartz (all 1966), Post 53, Front Royal, VaHerbert G. Angle and J. Eber Angle and Paul

Berets and Ernest Campbell and Dave Car-stairs (all 1967). Post 31, Shelton, Wash.Frederick L, Owen (1967), Post 234, Mount-

lake Terrace, Wash.Paul J. Skarda (1967). Post 467. Ontario. Wis.Clifton Gomez and Lyie Poole (both 1967).

Post 5, Torrington. Wyo.

Life Memberships are accepted for publica-tion only on an official form, which we provide.Reports received only from Commander, Ad-jutant or Finance Officer of Post which awardedthe life membership.They may get form by sending stamped, self-

addressed return envelope to:"L.M. Form, American Legion Magazine, 720

5th Ave., New York, N.Y." 10019.On a corner of the return envelope write the

number of names you wish to report. Nowritten letter necessary to get forms.

American Legion Life InsuranceMonth Ending April 30, 1968

Benefits paid Jan. 1-April 30, 1968 $ 492,485Benefits paid since April 1958 5,775,391Basic Units in force (number) 155,614New Applications approved sinceJan. 1, 1968 2,521

New Applications rejected 252

American Legion Life Insurance is an officialprogram of The American Legion, adopted bvthe National Executive Committee, 1958. It isdecreasing term insurance, issued on applica-tion to paid-up members of The AmericanLegion subject to approval based on health andemployment statement. Death benefits rangefrom $11,500 (full unit up through age 29) indecreasing steps with age to termination ofinsurance at end of year in which 75th birth-day occurs. Quoted benefit includes 15%"bonus" in excess of contract amount. Forcalendar year 1968 the 15% "across the board"increase in benefits will continue to all partici-pants in the group insurance plan. Available inhalf and full units at a flat rate of $12 or $24 ayear on a calendar year basis, pro-rated duringthe first year at $1 or $2 a month for insuranceapproved after January 1. Underwritten by twocommercial life insurance companies. AmericanLegion Insurance Trust Fund is managed bytrustee operating under the laws of Missouri.No other insurance may use the full words"American Legion." Administered by TheAmerican Legion Insurance Department. P.O.Box 5609, Chicago, Illinois 60680, to whichwrite for more details.


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world that makes a charge for room and

board, except nursing homes, convalescent

or self-care units of hospitals, Federal hospi-

tals or any hospital primarily for treatment

of tuberculosis, alcoholism, drug addiction,

or mental disorder.

12 What if I become permanently disabled?

Should you become totally disabled for 12

consecutive months before you reach the age

of 65, and it is medically determined that

you are unable to work at any job, you are

entitled to a permanent total disability bene-

fit-a lump sum of $10,000.00 in tax-free

cash! Of course, you must have been employed

full-time for at least 6 months before you

became totally disabled.

13 Can I drop out at any time? Can you

drop me?

No matter how many claims you make or how

much you collect, we will never cancel or

refuse to renew your policy for health rea-

sons-for as long as you live. We guarantee

that we will never cancel, modify or terminate

your policy unless we decline renewal on all

policies of this type in your entire state. You,

of course, can drop your policy on any re-

newal date.

14 How do I report a claim?

With your policy, you will receive a simple,

easy-to-use Claim Form which you send di-

rectly to the company when you wish to report

a claim.

15] How much does it cost to join?

Only $1.00, regardless of age. After your first

month you pay only $4.95 a month until age

55; only $5.95 a month until age 65; and only

$6.95 a month from age 65 and over.

16 Why are the premiums so low?

First, we believe veterans, as a group, are

better insurance risks. Second, by encourag-

ing regular check-ups, we hope to minimize

the chances of hospitalization and permanent

disability. Finally, this is a mass enrollment

plan—and no salesmen are used.

17 Why is there a "deadline" date?

in order to offer the Plan to properly qualified

veterans without any other requirements and

still maintain our low rate, we can only make

the Plan available on this basis during a

limited enrollment period. The deadline date

is firm-we cannot accept the enclosed En-

rollment unless postmarked on or before that

date.

18 Why should I enroll right now?

Because an unexpected sickness or accident

could strike without warning—and you will

not be covered until your policy is in force.

Remember, if for any reason you change your

mind, you may return your policy within 10

days and your $1.00 will be refunded immedi-

ately.

medical, dental and insurance profes-

sions.

No branch, department, or instru-

mentality of the United States Govern-

ment has any connection with this Plan

or with Physicians Mutual. No veterans

organization is in any way connected

with this ofiEering.

Urgent—Why You Should Enroll Today!

You have nothing to gain—but you can

lose—if you wait. Once accident or ill-

ness strikes, it will be too late to get

"extra cash" protection at any cost! Mail

your Enrollment today. The minute wereceive it, we will issue your Veterans

Benefit Policy ( Form P303 Series ) and

automatically put your poHcy in force.

We'll also send you an easy-to-use

Claim Form so that when you need your

benefits you will have it ready to use.

In addition, you'll receive special forms

each year to take to your doctor for

your medical check-up.

JUST ONE THING MORE! Because

this is a limited enrollment we can only

accept enrollments postmarked on or

before July 16, 1968. But please dontwait until the deadline. The sooner wereceive your Enrollment, the sooner

the plan will cover you. We cannot

cover you if your policy is not in force.

Simply fill out the form below and

mail it with $1.00 today. When you re-

ceive your policy, you'll see that it is

simple and easy to understand. But, if

for any reason you change your mind,

you may return it within 10 days andwe will promptly refund your dollar!

This enrollment is not available to residents of Calif.. Minn., N.]., N./M., N.Y., N.C., Wise.

VETERAN'SPERSONALRECORDCARD

This Personal Record Card identifies

you as a veteran, tells of your special

health problems, blood type, Immu-nization record, allergies and care andmedicine you need immediately if youare unconscious or unable to speak.

In case of sudden accident or illness, it

may help others save your life. This val-

uable card will be sent to you abso-

lutely free with your Veterans Benefit

policy. It is yours to keep even if youdecide to return your policy for refund.

Fill out and mail Enrollment with $1 to Veterans Benefit Plan,Physicians Mutual Insurance Company,

115 South 42nd Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68131

^ VETERANS BENEFIT PLANLIMITED ENROLLMENT FORM 7028

EXPIRATION DATE

JULY 16, 1968

Middle Initial Last

_STATE_ _ZIP NO..

DATE OF BIRTH_ SEX Male FemaleYearMonth Dav

Do you carry other insurance in this Company?No Yes (If "yes," please list policy numbers.)

I have served honorably in the Armed Forces of the

United States of America and am not now on active

duty. I do not now receive compensation for a service-

connected disability or pension for a non-service con-

nected disability from the Veterans Administration.

I have enclosed my first monthly premium of $1.00

and hereby apply to PHYSICIANS MUTUALINSURANCE COMPANY, Omaha, Nebraska, for a

Veterans Benefit Policy, Form P303 Series. I under-

stand that the policy is not in force until actually issued.

OCCUPATION.Form E-303

. Date. -Signed i

Sign Name in Full—Do Not Print

Please make check or money order payable to PHYSICIANS MUTUAL


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THE F-111—OUR SCHIZOID AIRPLANE(Continued from page 16)

Dec. 21. The variable wing was first

tested in flight Jan. 6, 1965. The follow-

ing March 5 an F-lllA made its first

flight faster than sound. On Nov. 9,

1966, an F-111 A exceeded the speed of

sound at less than 1,000 feet altitude

for 15 minutes. One of them flew the At-

lantic on May 22, 1967. The Air Force

got its first training (non-operational)

model last July 24. At Nellis AFB, last

Oct. 16, the first "operationally config-

ured" F-lllA was received. It was five

months later that the first six went into

combat in Southeast Asia, flying fromThailand.

Last Oct. 19 was the first time the es-

cape capsule was used in flight, whenpilot Dave Thigpen pulled the escape

trigger and he and copilot Max Gordonwalked away unharmed. If the craft went

the F-1 1 I's "other personality" that only

time will separate the wheat from the

chaff. It is certain that for the Air Force,

the plane is not what it was after, to the

last detail, because of modifications nec-

essary to make the same basic plane

serve the Navy as a carrier plane to pro-

tect the fleet.

The final product is lighter than the

Air Force wanted and heavier than the

Navy wanted. The Navy needed vari-

ances from the Air Force idea in length

(shorter), in weight (lighter), in thick-

ness (broader of nose). The final modelwent up from the Navy's length-weight

limits and down from the Air Force's.

Just for manhandling it aboard a car-

rier, storing it, moving it in elevators,

the Navy needed something smaller andlighter. The Navy wanted it chiefly as

"I'd better hang up now, Grace—Henry is hinting again!'

THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE

DEPT 447 BOX 1178, ENGLEWOOD, COLO. 80110

46 THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • AUGUST 1968

into combat fast, the pretesting before

putting the plane in operation was ex-

ceedingly thorough. For instance, the es-

cape capsule had been ejected from jet-

driven desert sleds going at supersonic

speeds (with dummies aboard) eleven

times by June 1966. On March 9, 1967,

a two-man crew spent 24 hours bobbing

in a tethered capsule at sea, in Arctic

wind and waters off Kodiak, Alaska.

Tech Sergeants Roy Wilson and HenryGandy said they were "reasonably com-fortable" in near zero weather and waves

that got as high as 12 feet. Their water

and rations were so ample that most were

unused after 24 hours.

As fast as the first three planes were

lost in Southeast Asia, Hanoi claimed

she had shot them down. But the usual

Communist lie was exposed when the

crew of the second and its wreckage

turned up in Thailand. It was examina-

tion of the wreckage that indicated that

a tube of sealant from Fort Worth waswhat "shot it down."

So much controversy has raged about

a plane to protect the fleet, stay on patrol

over long periods of time and do battle

from its station with the Phoenix mis-

siles. They were to fire multiple weaponsat numerous targets simultaneously. TheNavy also wanted elaborate detection

gear. Both the detection gear and the

Phoenix (as well as its operator) de-

manded nose space. One of the first Navycompromises was to waive any expecta-

tion of using it on smaller carriers, to put

more emphasis yet on all carriers as big,

big carriers. The Navy was also dis-

tressed at a final product with a price

tag of $8 million each on its version,

some of it for unneeded capabilities.

There is little question that the

F-1 11 A can serve the Air Force and

that the F-1 1 IB could have served the

Navy, even excelling some of the expec-

tations, if falling short of others. But

one thing involved is a question still un-

answerable. Is it enough that the F-111

could meet today's most exacting stand-

ards for Air Force or Navy? It will be

our basic Air Force craft for many years

to come, for it was built to be the plane

of the future, not the plane of today. It

would have been our Navy plane of the

future. Only the future will say whether

the compromises built into it, to make it

less than the plane of the future as seen

by both forces in 1959, are actually ac-

ceptable, or if they will penalize us.

The Navy is now actively seeking a

new plane, exactly tailored to its ownneeds, with the outspoken consent of the

Senate Armed Forces Committee and

the apparent blessing of the Pentagon.

The Air Force will live with Navy needs

built into its plane. Two of these we have

already seen.

1 . Shorter low-level, high-speed range

than the Air Force desired.

2. A broader nose with right side pilot

blindness, and fuel consuming drag.

A great deal of the F-1 1 1 controversy

is academic to anyone whose prime in-

terest is in whether the plane is what

we are going to need in the years ahead,

or if we will need a different craft that

we might have gotten with the same time

and money without McNamara's shot-

gun wedding. (Incidentally, some of the

F-111 design is superior to what either

service sought, and was forced into bythe need to compromise. Its compactness

and use-for-weight ratio is in that cate-

gory.)

The ruckus over McNamara's award-

'Oh, no—not at the rush hour!"THiS AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE

ing the contract to General Dynamicsinstead of the low-bidder, Boeing, is part

of the history, but has little to do with

whether this is the right plane for the

future.

It would take a genius to wade through

the charges and countercharges of howmuch the plane cost, compared to what

it ought to have cost, and prove that

statements made about millions and mil-

lions spent on "bungling and false prom-ises" are meaningful or special plead-

ing. The whole thing will have been bun-

gled if, in, say, 1980, the Air Force finds

the F-111 inadequate to match a for-

eign aggressor, while an uncompromisedplane, possible today, would have been

adequate. // it turns out that North Viet-

nam can shoot it down because of a com-promised feature, the plane will be a

scandal.

The true test of our schizoid plane is

thus in the lap of time and events. It

seems magnificent today, but only the

future will say if it is a magnificent toy

or a magnificent weapon. the end

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you everything you want from

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Copenhagen "straight."


In 1803 a new and amhitioiis French

governor arrived full of dreams of the

nsw French restoration of the city and

the great territory behind it. He busied

himself with plans, while the French citi-

zens (who had been treated well by the

Spanish after some early difficulties of

their own making) welcomed the Frenchreturn. The official transfer of power

back to France was set for ceremonies

in Place d'Armes on Nov. 30, 1803. But

long before then the new governor knewthat it was all a mockery. Napoleon, tak-

ing the long view, had the same strategic

idea as the Spaniards. How could youhold this place against British seapower?

How could you hold it against the

American adventurers, every day press-

ing closer to the city by land? What bet-

ter thing to do than see that the Ameri-

cans got it, and not the British?

Listening to President Thomas Jeffer-

son's emissaries. Napoleon shrewdly

agreed to sell it all for $15 million, in-

cluding New Orleans and the whole Mis-

sissippi watershed claimed by France.

Well before Nov. 30, 1803, the sale wasknown in New Orleans. In a bitter (to

him), formal ceremony, the French gov-

ernor went through the motions of ac-

cepting Louisiana from Spain on Nov.

30, in ceremonies in the Place d'Armes.

Three weeks later, on Dec. 20, 1803, he

went through the motions (just as bit-

terly) of repeating the ceremony in the

Place d'Armes. He transferred the heart

of the continent to William C. C. Clai-

borne, acting as agent and temporary

governor for the United States. (Some-what north of the French Quarter youwill find long, broad Claiborne Avenuetoday.

)

In 1815 Gen. Andrew Jackson, aided

by Lafitte. the pirate, proved out Na-

A LOOK AT NEW ORLEANS, LA.(Continued from page 30)

poleon's theory. By sea the British

brought an army, and would have hadan easy time were New Orleans to be

defended from France. But the com-bined Americans and locals threw themback in the famous Battle of New Or-

leans. Subsequently the Americans re-

named Place d'Armes, calling it Jackson

Square, and erected the heroic statue of

Jackson triumphant on horseback at its

center. He is also honored by the Jack-

son brewery nearby, and its big Jax beer

ad towering just off the square, though

it is a bit jarring in the rest of the sur-

roundings. This was the sort of thing the

Creoles didn't like about the Americansat all.

On two facing sides of Jackson Square

stand the block-long pair of Pontalba

apartment houses, built in 1849 and said

to be the oldest true apartment houses

now standing in the United States. Theyare in the traditional design of the old

city. Altogether, the square is quite an

historic eyeful.

Elsewhere in the French Quarter youwill find a number of reminders of La-

fitte, including one of his secret head-

quarters.

WHEN THE Legion convention meets

for its full sessions in the Municipal

Auditorium, the delegates will find them-

selves exactly in the line of an old fort

wall that surrounded the old city except

on the river side. The Auditorium is on

Beauregard Square, which is at St. Peter

and Rampart Streets. Within ten years of

Bienville's founding of the city, the

Choctaw and Chickasaw Indians wagedwar on it so successfully that Bienville

was exhausted by his efforts to pacify

them and asked to be recalled to France.

When his successor did no better, Bien-

HAVE YOU CHANGED YOUR ADDRESS?To insure that your magazine will follow you if you've changedyour address recently or expect to shortly, fill out this coupon andmail to: Circulation Dep't, The American Legion Magazine, P. O. Box1954, Indianapolis, Ind. 46206. Also, notify your post adjutant.

I

ATTACH ADDRESS LABEL FROM YOUR CURRENTISSUE IN THIS SPACE OR PRINT OLD ADDRESS I

PLEASE PRINT Date-

NAME(member's name)

CARD NO.

POST NO._

YEAR_ DEPT.

NEW ADDRESS.

CITY or TOWN

(include letter prefix)

(street)

STATE(route or P.O. BOX)

(zip code)

ville was later returned. Throughoutthe 1700's the city was walled, and since

the northernmost street was on the ram-parts, it became Rampart Street.

The Auditorium foundation stands onground that once held part of the wall.

All beyond was cypress swamp, slug-

gishly drained by Bayou St. John andBayou Gentilly into Lake Pontchartrain.

These bayous gave access to an inland

waterway along the Gulf via the lake.

That was one of the reasons for the se-

lection of the city site by Bienville. To-day, straight out toward the lake, almost

three miles beyond the old wall, in the

very heart of the former swamp, stands

New Orleans City Park—a truly beauti-

ful and well kept city park. In it is City

Park Stadium, where, on Sunday night,

Sept. 8, the Legion's national Drum and

Bugle Corps championships will be held.

AN ODDITY ABOUT Ncw Orleans is that

. while most of the present city wasdrained by canals, there was never a

canal on Canal Street. And it is very hard

to find a native who feels sure just whyCanal Street is Canal Street, or why, if

it wasn't a canal, it is so wide. Thanksin part to historian John Chase we have

the following, which also reveals whyCommon Street, an important business

street paralleling Canal, is CommonStreet.

Way back in the early French days,

Jesuit brothers were allowed to settle out-

side the city and go into farming in an

area that is now in the main business

district. Loyola Avenue at CommonStreet pretty well defines its inland limits,

as befits a Jesuit settlement.* (And nowyou have a better idea where the Public

Library is.) Thanks to some religious

contention the Jesuits were evicted and

their property condemned. A good piece

of their farmland was then set aside

as "common ground" for public use, or,

in French, "terre commune." CommonStreet was, obviously, part of it. Underthe Americans, later, a 1 7 1 -foot-wide

additional strip was set aside by Con-

gress to be both a street and a canal, the

canal to have 50 feet of the width, and

to connect with Bayou St. John. In 1852

the company that was to build the canal

went bankrupt and forfeited its charter.

No more canal-to-be. The street simply

absorbed the extra 50 feet of width in

absence of an act to do anything else

with it. It was renamed Touro Avenue in

1854, after a merchant who had helped

beautify it. But the natives did what NewYorkers do with 6th Avenue. It's nearly

a generation since a mayor put up newsigns calling 6th Avenue the Avenue of

the Americas, but it's still 6th Avenueto everyone, including New York's city-

* Footnote—The Spanish St. Ignatius of Loyolafounded the Jesuit order, or Society of Jesus, in1540.


owned subway system. In New Orleans

they kept right on calHng Touro AvenueCanal Street. After about a year of this

the city fathers made that official again.

The American Legion Parade will

pass down 1 miles of Canal Street onMonday, Sept. 9. As New Orleans can

be a mite warm at that time of year,

the parade will be in the evening, starting

at 6. It is a perfectly flat parade route,

held in a city whose Mardi Gras experi-

ence ought to make any parades ducksoup to handle well, on a street that is

wide and palm lined. The parade starts

at Galvez Street and proceeds toward the

river to disband at Magazine Street. Gal-

vez is Galvez on both sides, but Maga-

"Maybe someday I'll grow into a fragile,

delicate, haunting creature. Right nowI'm enjoying my .623 batting average."

THE AMERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE

zine is Decatur on the downriver side,

and is the waterfront street of the French

Quarter, added in later years below the

older Chartres Street.

A good stroll by a parader along De-catur, after stepping out of the parade

late in the evening, will take him to the

far riverward corner of the French Quar-

ter where the famous French Marketis, just in time to join much of NewOrleans' night life in one of its favorite

before-bed occupations, coffee anddoughnuts at the French Market. Or he

can head in any direction toward whathe may have established as his favorite

oyster bar by then. New Orleans rawoysters on the half shell are among the

world's best, if you like oysters as muchas we do. You eat 'em standing up and

mix your own sauce. At some seasons

they are as big as the great Cape Codoysters of the northeast coast. Their

flavor is oo-la-la and they are always in

season. And $1.30 a dozen was what wepaid recently.

Why tell anyone about New Orleans

shrimp? Or its excellent restaurants? Apity the crawfish won't be in season in

September. This highly edible delicacy

can be dragged out of almost any Louis-

iana bayou by the poorest citizen, and

it is just like a little Maine lobster, in

appearance and for eating. A "crawfish

boil" is the southern Louisiana version

of the old-fashioned clambake—a real

social with gorgeous eating. But these lit-

tle goodies are really in season in late

winter.

BACK IN THE French Market for a min-

ute. New Orleans' Streetcar NamedDesire has been replaced by a bus

"named" Desire, ie: marked for Desire

Street. But someone has preserved a

streetcar named Desire in its own little

museum in the French Market, so youcan still see one as a relic when you gofor your doughnuts and java. Othertrolley cars still operate in New Orleans,

the only place—San Francisco's cable

cars excepted—where we have seen anyrunning in the United States in recent

years.

If you are fussy about good coffee,

you should find plenty to suit your palate

in New Orleans, and if the wind is right

you can smell it roasting elsewhere while

sipping your own in the French Market.

It comes right off ships from Latin

America along the neighboring docking

space, and some of it is roasted nearby.

We didn't see where, but we scented it,

on a recent stroll.

One of the Spanish features of the

French Quarter is the inner court in

many a building which appears crampedon the sidewalk. Some of the best eating

places look like little from the outside,

but open into pleasant, sociable andspacious interior courts.

We can't testify to the best of manyfine restaurants, but Brennan's and An-toine's are, of course, nationally famous.The hotel meals we've had in the busi-

ness district were good enough. Friends

and locals alike speak up for Felix's as a

fine oyster bar. We "oystered" recently at

The Pearl on St. Charles Ave., just off

Canal. The place is far from pretentious,

but its oysters spoke for themselves.

Some people who have taken river andbayou boat trips from the foot of Canalsimply rave about them. A friend says

Preservation Hall, next to Pat O'Brien's,

"offers the best jazz in the city." With ourear, we wouldn't know. Like many of

the jazz places, admission is by contribu-

tion and it's just for hot music—no bar

—

no nothing much but jazz. Trumpeter AlHirt's place is famous. This same friend

speaks well of the Court of Two Sisters

for breakfast and lunch. But New Or-leans is such an eating city that it's a

game without end to start naming all the

good places. You go looking yourself.

THE END

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THE STORY BEHIND OUR POLITICAL CONVENTIONS(Continued from page 11)

moderates have been fighting in 1968 for

a much less conservative party platform

than the one drawn up by Goldwater's

supporters four years ago. With a less

conservative platform, they feel, they

can create a climate for a liberal nom-inee, or free any candidate from self-

defeating overconservatism if he wins

the nomination at Miami Beach.

Preconvention fireworks, sometimes

even carried over onto the convention

floor itself, occasionally surround the

decisions of the Credentials Committee.

It can decide which delegates may be

seated—a mighty power. In 1952, whenGeneral Eisenhower and the late Sen.

Robert A. Taft were engaged in a spirited

contest for the Republican nomination,

Eisenhower partisans charged that a

delegate "steal" was being perpetrated

because they were frozen out by Taft-

controlled state party organizations in

the Southern states, especially Georgia

and Texas. Rival Taft and Eisenhower

delegations from those two states arrived

at the Chicago convention and the Taft-

controlled Credentials Committee de-

cided for the Taft delegations. But the

nation's 25 Republican Governors pro-

tested against letting the disputed Taft

delegations vote on the credentials fight

involving their own seats on the conven-

tion floor. The convention narrowly de-

cided against the Taft delegations. Withthis psychological victory behind them,

the Eisenhower forces moved forward to

win the Presidential nomination for their

man.

In 1964, the Democratic Credentials

Committee was called on to settle a

potentially explosive conflict over cre-

dentials for the Mississippi delegates.

The all-white regular Democratic dele-

gates from that state were challenged by

the largely Negro "Mississippi FreedomDemocratic Party," which alleged that

Negroes had been intimidated and de-

nied the right to vote in that state. Onthe recommendation of the Credentials

Committee, the convention approved a

compromise solution letting the Missis-

sippi regulars take their seats if they

would sign a loyalty oath—that is, agree

to support whatever platform and candi-

date the convention decided on. Twoconvention seats at "large" were offered

the Freedom Democrats. Most of the

Mississippi regulars then walked out of

the convention, while the FreedomDemocrats rejected the compromise. Aloyalty oath was required also of the

Alabama Democratic delegates, but most

refused to take it and walked out of the

convention.

One result of the 1964 Democratic

fight was the adoption by the Demo-crats of an anti-discrimination rule for

state party groups naming delegates to

the Democratic National Convention in

1968 and future years. For the first

time in modern history, as a result, there

will be Negroes on the Alabama delega-

tion to this year's convention. But there

are still likely to be lively credentials

fights over the racial balance and the

loyalty to the national party of several

Southern delegations.

By the official opening day of a mod-ern national nominating convention, the

city is jam-packed with delegates, alter-

nates, curious bystanders and a press

corps of at least 5,000. By now the

Presidential contenders will hope to have

sewn up enough delegate commitmentsto nominate their man. But if the nom-ination is still uncertain, the convention

city will be filled with reports and rumors

of caucuses, deals, pressures and maneu-vers. A serious contender like Kennedyin 1960 or Goldwater in 1964 will have

moved in a whole army of special aides

and contact men, whose efforts are co-

ordinated through a complex com-munications system that stretches fromdowntown headquarters to key delega-

tions to the convention floor itself. Theywill by now have careful records on the

political leanings of every delegate to

the convention, plus other useful in-

formation about each delegate that can

be used to sway him at a crucial moment.

In the convention hall, the party's na-

tional chairman will wield the gavel to

call the convention to order. This year

it will be Chairman Ray C. Bliss for the

Republicans and Chairman John M.Bailey for the Democrats. The major

attraction of the first evening will be

the keynote address for the convention,

a call to battle to the party faithful and

—

through television—an effort to sell the

nation on the party's cause.

Sometimes, a keynote speech can play

a major role in the subsequent course of

the convention. When the Democrats

gathered in Philadelphia in 1948, most

were convinced that the Republicans

would oust President Truman in that

year's elections. But Kentucky's Sen.

Alben Barkley gave such a rousing key-

note address that he dispelled the de-

featist atmosphere. Barkley's perform-

ance was so outstanding that he was then

selected to be the party's Vice Presi-

dential nominee on the ticket with

President Truman. Against all predic-

tions, the Truman-Barkley ticket went on

to win that year's election.

A keynote speech may not always

help a man's national image, however.

Tennessee's Gov. Frank G. Clement was

only 36 when the Democrats picked himto give their 1956 address. Clement de-

livered a classic oration in the style of

the last century in which he kept asking,

"How long, O Lord, how long" until

the nation would be relieved of Re-

publican rule. Reporter "Red" Smith was

unkind enough to write: "The young

Governor of Tennessee, Frank G. Clem-

ent, slew the Republican Party with the

jawbone of an ass here tonight."

The convention keynoter usually acts

as temporary chairman of the conven-

tion until the second day, when the per-

manent officers take over. The post of

permanent chairman is of key impor-

tance, since the man in that position has

the power to recognize or not recognize

delegations and to decide whether the

"aye's" or the "no's" have carried the

day on important votes. A ruling by

Sen. Henry Cabot Lodge, grandfather of

the piesent Ambassador and permanent

chairman of the 1920 Republican con-

vention, set the stage for the deal in the

"smoke-filled room" that resulted in

Warren Harding's nomination. After the

first four convention ballots that year, a

trend seemed to be developing toward

Gen. Leonard Wood. The Senatorial

junta opposed to Wood moved for a

recess, and Chairman Lodge, in the face

of a great roar of "no's" on the motion,

blandly said the "aye's" had it and the

convention recessed. The steam was gone

out of the movement for Wood, and the

group that settled on Harding was soon

assembled in room 404 of the Black-

stone. Theoretically, Lodge could have

been overruled by a roll call—but in the

hubbub of a recess he could be "deaf"

to a demand for one.

The late House Speaker Sam Rayburn

(the Democrats' permanent chairman in

three national conventions) demon-strated the power of his position in 1956

by simply refusing to recognize the states

calling for a roll-call vote on a contro-

versial minority civil rights plank.

SOMETIMES there is a fight on the sec-

ond day of the convention over the

permanent rules for the convention. In

the 1952 Democratic convention, a

stormy battle developed over the loyalty

oath adopted by the convention as part

of its permanent rules. A struggle over

the loyalty issue has erupted or at least

been threatened at every Democratic

convention since.

The major business of the second con-

vention day is normally the adoption of

the platform. Actually, these days, it is

something of a misnomer to talk of the

first or second or third "day" of a con-

vention, since virtually all sessions are

scheduled for the evenings in order to

capture maximum national television

audiences.

By the third evening the time has cometo call the roll of the states for placing

names in nomination for the Presidency,

As each state's name is reached alpha-

betically, it may either place a name in

nomination itself, yield to another state

that wants to make a nomination, or

pass. With a popular incumbent Presi-

dent in office, there may be no other

nominations than his. But in the con-

vention of a party out of power (or if

the President is not a candidate or is

challenged) there can be a long string

of nominations—both serious candidates

and "favorite sons."

The Democratic convention of 1924,

famous for so many things, taught the

public what a "favorite son" is as nothing

else before or since. It is, of course, a

candidate from the home state who is

not expected to win anything. The dele-

gates put his name up and vote for himwhile they bargain among the leading

candidates for favors. They may even

hope to "name" the actual candidate, by

switching to him at the "crucial mo-

ment." If so, and if he becomes Presi-

dent, they may remind him that "they

put him over." In the course of nominat-

ing a favorite son, delegations may also

use the time to advertise their state and

its wonders over the TV-radio hookup.

A delegation may even stick by its fa-

vorite son throughout a convention, as a

{Continued on page 52)

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THE STORY BEHIND OUR POLITICAL CONVENTIONS(Continued from page 51)

form of protest against all leading candi-

dates.

The 1924 conventions were the first

ever heard over radio by most of the

population. When the Democrats went to

103 ballots, each roll call began, of

course, with Alabama. On each roll call,

the first words heard over the airwaves

were (slowly and deliberately, until the

whole nation could recite it in unison)

"Alabama . . . casts ... 24 votes . . .

for . . . Oscar . . . W. . . . UNDER-WOOD." It would be a perfect story if,

on the 103rd ballot the people at radios

had known the deadlock was broken by

hearing Alabama go for John W. Davis.

But Davis was not to Alabama's liking.

When the tide turned to Davis, Alabamahad cast its 103rd vote for its favorite

son, too.

An exceptionally long list of "favorite

son" nominations is likely at both parties'

conventions this year.

The formal speeches in which the

names of the Presidential candidates are

placed in nomination represent Ameri-

can political oratory at its most flam-

boyant. Nominating speeches now run

to 15 or 20 minutes—though it took just

27 words to place Lincoln's name in

nomination in 1 860. At least by tradi-

tion, the name of the candidate is not

mentioned until the very end of the

speech—and is invariably the signal for

a carefully prearranged demonstration

on the convention floor. In the early

years, only delegates participated in

demonstrations, but in recent decades

most or all of the demonstrators have

been paid or volunteer workers brought

onto the convention floor for that specific

purpose. At times, the appearance has

been deceptive. At the Democratic con-

vention in Los Angeles in 1960, Minne-sota's Sen. Eugene McCarthy gave a stir-

ring nomination speech for the late Adiai

Stevenson, followed by a wildly enthu-

siastic demonstration. To the politically

naive, it may have looked as if Steven-

son might sweep the convention. But in

reality, Kennedy already had a majority

of the delegates sewed up. There were

very few actual delegates among the

frenzied Stevenson demonstrators on the

convention floor.

ACTING ON THE Suggestion of former

. President Eisenhower, the Republi-

cans have adopted a number of conven-

tion rule reforms this year—including

barring outside demonstrators altogether.

The lore of political conventions is

rich with stories of "dark horses"—menscarcely considered before the conven-

tion who were able to win the nomina-

tion because the leading candidates were

deadlocked. We have mentioned Hard-

ing in 1920 and Davis in 1924. One of

the most sensational dark horse victories

in recent history occurred at the 1940

Republican convention. Indiana-born

Wendell Willkie, known best as a Wall

Street lawyer and public utility execu-

tive, emerged as the nominee of a dead-

locked Republican convention on the

sixth ballot. Willkie, incidentally, had

learned something about deadlocked

conventions as a delegate to that famousDemocratic convention of 1924 that

went to 103 ballots. He was an acknowl-

edged Democrat until shortly before his

1940 nomination by the Republicans.

The convention galleries were packed

with chanters shouting: "We want Will-

kie. We want Willkie. We want Willkie."

For long periods of time that was all

the nation's radio listeners could hear.

The trick was an old one: Abraham Lin-

coln's supporters also had packed the

galleries at the 1 860 Republican conven-

tion in Chicago, contributing to Lincoln's

victory over the much better known Sen.

William Seward of New York.

The phenomena of the deadlocked

convention and dark horse winners maybe fading into history, however. The Re-

publicans have not needed more than

one ballot since they selected Thomas E.

Dewey (on the third ballot) at their 1948

convention in Philadelphia. The last time

the Democrats failed to reach an im-

mediate decision was in 1952 at Chicago,

when Adlai Stevenson did not emerge as

the winner until the third ballot. Steven-

son had protested until the day of his

nomination that he was not interested in

the Presidency. If true, that made himthe last Presidential candidate really to

be chosen by a "draft." Television maybe responsible for an end to deadlocks

and dark horse nominations. Daily tele-

vised proceedings of a seriously dead-

locked convention would be terribly em-barrassing for a party. And television

has made the major nominees for each

party's nomination so well known to the

people that a party would have great

difficulty in explaining how it had junked

them all to settle on an obscure dark-

horse entry for the American Presidency.

Once the Presidential nominee is

picked, the steam is gone out of a con-

vention, and the delegates wearily wait

to hear whom the Presidential candidate

would like as a running mate for Vice

President. His choice is usually ratified

promptly. In 1956, Adlai Stevenson took

the unusual step of throwing the choice

of a Vice President to the convention

without indicating his personal choice.

A spirited battle developed between two

Senators, Estes Kefauver of Tennessee

and John F. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

Kefauver won on the second ballot, but

Kennedy learned some valuable lessons

about maneuvering in a political con-

vention. They served him well when he

won a first-ballot nomination in 1960.

The convention practice of letting a

Presidential nominee pick his Vice Presi-

dent is now mirrored in the Constitution

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provision letting the President name a

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step into the Presidency should the Presi-

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The formal acceptance speeches by

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the national conventions. But they are a

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convention in Chicago in 1932, was the

first Presidential nominee to appear in

person to accept the nomination. In

1860, Lincoln stayed in his home city

of Springfield during the entire course

of the Chicago convention that nomin-ated him for the Presidency. Lincoln

wrote to a friend in Chicago: "I am a

little too much of a candidate to stay

home and not quite enough of a candi-

date to go."

The acceptance speech, nationally tele-

vised, may set the tone for an entire cam-paign. In 1960, Kennedy announced his

"New Frontier" theme during his LosAngeles acceptance speech. The sameyear, Nixon announced in his Chicago

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50 states in his campaign. That struck

a responsive chord among the delegates,

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THE ACCEPTANCE speech is often aneffort to bind up the wounds which

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President Johnson also broke with

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PERSONAL

SUMMER JOBS SCARCE.

MOVING? NOTE THESE TIPS.

DOLLAR KNOW-HOW.College and high school graduates won't have much ti-ouble getting per-

manent employment this year, but students looking for temporary summerjobs will find the pickings somewhat slim. If you have a student in thefamily who wants summer work, he should get on the ball immediately.To give you an idea of this year's competition: Some 2.8 million students

will be looking for temporary work, bringing the nation's labor force in

the 16-21 age bracket to 13.4 million. Of that total, 1.6 million probablywon't find work.Among the available jobs themselves, the best bets are in the service

industries, sales and sales-related work, farming, maybe some construction,and camp counseling (there actually is a shortage of camp counselors).Meantime, remember:

• Your youngster may need a work permit. Check your local laws.• Youngsters must file income tax returns if they make $600 or more, but

they don't have to pay taxes until they cross the $900 mark.

If you figure on moving to another residence in the months ahead, planeverything very carefully so that you won't get stranded. Here's why:

1) Housing is very hard to find. For example, the vacancy rate for rentalunits is down to around 5^2% and a mere 1.2"^ in units available for sale.

2) The costs of moving are rising, and there have been numerous delaysbecause of strikes. On longer hauls, rates just went up i.25^/c-

Be sure to keep an accurate record of moving expenses if the shift is

related to your job. In that case, you may be able to get a tax deduction if

you—and not your employer—foot the bill.

*The cost of borrowing money—already brutal—will stay high for the

immediate future and may go even higher.

Of course, if you are able to save money, the reverse is tioie—you will

get a handsome rate of return. But remember that the return may betaxable and that the cost of living is rising while your money is salted

away. In all, the experts say that these are the alternatives you can choosefrom nowadays:

• E Bonds and Freedom shares: The former pay 4.15% when held to

maturity (7 years) and the latter 4.74% (held to AVz years). Neither brings

a spectacular rate, but thej' can be acquired painlessly and you don't haveto pay a tax on the interest until you cash them in.

• Municipal bonds: They earn about Wz'^^c, but they're tax free and that

is a major inducement to many an investor.

• Industrial, rail and utility bonds: All are over the 61,4 '^r mark.• Banks and savings & loan associations: Savings banks and savings &

loan associations pay about 5%, compounded quarterly (sometimes moi-e

often); commercial banks pay 4%, compounded quarterly or semi-annually.Certificates of deposit are in the 5% and up range.

• Common stocks: The yield on the industrials is relatively low (a bit

over 3%). But remember that stock appreciation can be taxed at the lowercapital-gains rate and tax losses are deductible. Traditionally, stocks are re-

garded as inflation hedges.

Among the new products now coming on the market, note the:

• HOME COPIER: Now that ofHce-equipment makers firmly haveplanted adding machines and typewriters in homes, they're trying to pro-mote home copying machines. The first is a dry-copier (needs no liquids

or chemicals) that will make 8 x 10-inch reproductions of papers, docu-ments, book pages, etc., for about 2<* apiece. Called "Copymate," it sells

for about $29.95 and is scheduled for nationwide distribution on a market-by-market basis. Incidentally, small businessmen—who can't afford big,

expensive machines—also ai-e among the early customers.—By Edgar A. Grunwald

BASEBALL'S SECRETSIGN LANGUAGE

-(Continued from page 22)-

touching his face. Sitting in the dugoutone day, with big Boog Powell at bat

and a runner on first, Bauer touched his

face for no other reason than it itched.

The obedient third-base coach imme-diately gave the bunt sign to Boog, a

home-run hitter.

Boog stared, unbelieving. He hadn't

dropped a bunt in months. SuddenlyBauer realized what had happened. Hecame olT the bench roaring, frantically

giving the rubofif sign to erase the bunt.

For several seasons the floundering

Mets dismayed veteran sign stealers. In

one game a Dodger catcher saw the Metcoach give the hit-and-run sign to the

batter and base runner. The catcher

called for a pitchout. But neither base

runner nor hitter saw the sign. The bat-

ter took the wide pitch for a ball, the

runner sticking fast to first.

AGAIN THE Met coach signed for a hit

. and run. Again only the opposing

catcher saw the sign. He called for an-

other pitchout. Again the batter didn't

swing, the runner didn't run. "Ball two!"

hollered the umpire.

The catcher yanked off his mask. Hetapped the Met batter on the shoulder

and pointed to the third-base coach.

"Son," he said, "that fellow down there

is trying to tell you something. If youdon't catch that sign soon, you and meare both going to be in big trouble."

Even a coach occasionally will messup a sign. Once Hank Aaron, the Braves'

slugger, got the squeeze-play sign fromthe third-base coach. The coach then

gave the sign to the hitter. But in the

tension of the moment, the coach wig-

wagged the hit-and-run sign to the bat-

ter. As the pitcher threw, Aaron streaked

for home."I was ten feet from the plate when

I saw the batter swinging that bat right at

my head instead of bunting," Aaron told

me this spring. "I think my heart stopped.

I slid and the bat missed the ball by half

an inch and my head by an inch. Thecatcher was so surprised he watched meslide across the plate with the winning

run."

The players who get the most signs are

the pitchers, who receive one from the

catcher before each pitch. "Most pitch-

ers like simple signs," said Red Sox

catcher Elston Howard. "They have so

much to concentrate on, they don't like

to memorize a lot of signs. Catchers,

though, like to keep the signs as compli-

cated as possible because they don't wantbase runners to steal them."

Rookie pitchers usually are given very

simple signs. "They're wild enough as it

is," one catcher told me, "without get-

ting them nervous with a lot of signs."


rSSHOPPERWhen Paul "Daffy" Dean first joined the

Cardinals in the 1930's, catcher MikeRyba told him he'd keep the signs very

simple: one finger for a fastball, two for

a curve, three for a change of pace.

Dean nodded. In the first inning Rybacalled for a fast ball. The pitch fluttered

weakly toward home plate and the batter

smacked it into left field for a single.

Ryba gave the sign for a curve. That, too,

arched softly toward the plate and the

hitter whacked a double.

Finally Daffy got the third out. In the

dugout Ryba took Dean aside. "What's

the matter, Paul?" said Ryba. "Youseemed faster when you warmed up."

"Give me the sign for that two-finger

ball more often," said Paul. "I can't get

any speed on the pitch when I throw it

with one finger."

"Sit down, Paul," said Ryba, "and let

me tell you about signs."

The great Yankee pitcher, Lefty Go-mez, knew all about signs but in one

game he didn't want to take one. Thebases were loaded with no one out.

Slugger Jimmy Foxx was at bat for the

Red Sox. Gomez kept shaking off catcher

Bill Dickey's signs.

Finally Dickey ran out to the mound."What's the matter. Lefty?" growled

Dickey. "You keep shaking off all mysigns. You got to throw something."

"Let's wait a little longer," said Lefty.

"Maybe Foxx will get a long-distance

phone call."

In baseball today these signs are grow-

ing in importance as pennant races

draw tighter. New rules for getting

young players have sunk one-time pow-ers like the Yankees and Dodgers to the

level of other teams. In 1967, three

teams scrambled down to the final dayof the American League season only a

game apart. This year, any one of six

teams could win the National Leaguepennant. Any one of six could win in

the American League.

"With all the teams so closely

bunched," says Cub manager Leo Du-rocher, "a team that gets the most out

of its signs has an edge. That edge can

win you a half-dozen games in a season,

and a difference of six games in today's

pennant races can be the difference be-

tween finishing first and finishing

fourth." THE END

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are YOU unlucky?THE GIRL Whose dreams never come trueTHE MAN success passes by

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THE AM ERICAN LEGION MAGAZINE • JUNE 1968 55

r \

PARTING SHOTS

"As soon as you arrive at your mother's, call me, so I'll know I'm safe."

THE AMKIllCAN ],E(ilON MAGAZINE

"MOTHER'S INGENUITY"Surprised to sec his teen-aged son busy at mowing and raking the lawn,

the puzzled father went to his wife for an explanation of the miracle.

"Well, I tried everything under the sun to get him to do it last week but

nothing worked." Then, she added triumphantly, "Today ... I just told

him that I lost the car keys in the grass."

LucilleJ.

Goodyear

SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUTThrough the use of a Time Machine that earthlings know nothing

about, a man from the year 2000 landed on Earth and got to talking

with a 1968 man."Are you really from the year 2000?" the present-day fellow asked.

Mr. 2000 assured him he was.

"Well, we're about to send some test flights to the moon to see if a

man can go there and then come back," said the Earthling. "Maybeby the year 2000 we can have it perfected so that men can go to

the moon and then get back to Earth safely."

"In the year 2000?" said the visitor. "Earth? What earth?"Dan Bennett

THAT DEFLATED FEELING

It was a delightful fall day and the four coeds skipped morning classes

to go for a drive. After lunch, they reported to a teacher that their car hadhad a flat tire on the way to school that morning.

Much to their relief, she smiled understandingly and said, "Girls, you

missed a test thi: morning. Please take scats apart from one another andget out some notepaper."

When the girls were settled, and waiting expectantly, the teacher con-

tinued, "No talking, please. Now write the answer to this question: 'Whichtire was flat?'

"

Herm Albright

BRACED FOR ACTIONEach time I see big shining braces

Glitter forth from youthful faces,

I know the family finances

Are now in straightened circumstances.

Jean B. Chisholm

NEW DEFINITIONAir pollution: A grime against society.

Herm Albright

BAD TIMEThere's a clock in our town hall steeple

That's committed the unpardonablecrime,

For years it's fooled all of the people,

And not some but all of the time.Bill Kelly

CASH DILEMMAStarting from scratch is difficult, but

starting without it is impossible.

Jack Herbert

THE CHOSEN ONEWhen my kinfolk have a weddingOr a party for our horde

My brother gets invited,

But I'm usually ignored.

This doesn't mean we're foes or

That our family has rifts;

It's just that I am stingy

While my brother gives big gifts.

Lester A. Sobel

POINT OF VIEWMouth: The grocer's friend, the orator's

pride, the fool's trap, and the dentist's

salvation.

Thomas LaMance

THE GREAT BEYONDIt's nice when I can make ends meet.

And beat inflation's rap.

But, golly, wouldn't it be neat

To have an overlap?S. S. BlDDLE

"Do you have the same thing in a different

odor?"

THE AMERICAi<J LEGION MAGAZINE


World's first . . . and introduced first by Alexander Sales! Amazing new water sprinkler. Set just once, and then it automaticallywaters every inch of your lawn and garden without missing a sin gle blade of grass, waters every flower in your garden . . . everytree and shrub no matter how your lawn or garden is shaped. Yet . . . it never wastes a drop of water on steps, sidewalks, patios,or even lawn furniture.

THIS IS THE SPRINKLER WITH A BRAIN that takes all of the work and guessing out of watering your lawn and garden . . . anddoes a better job than a full time gardener. Look what it will do for you: You can have a lawn that is thick, lush and greenevery day of the year regardless of how hot or dry it is. Your flowers will blossom bigger and more often. Your frees and shrubswill have new vitality. Your fruit trees will bear bigger and juicier fruit.

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Please send me_ .Sprinklers at $19.95 each plus $1.00pp. and handling. I understand that I may try this for onefull month and if not completely satisfied return for a ful

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Pay't Enclosed

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Charge Amer. Ex. #__

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Address

City State -Zip

1

This message is strictly for smokers who've never tasted a Camel cigarette.

Camel smokers, you know what we mean.

You other guys, start walking.© 1968 R. J. ReynoldsTobacco Company, Winston-Salem, N.C.