(45) The first convention of the Nebraska American Legion was held in Omaha on October 10 and 11, 1919.

     This meeting will always stand out in historical importance since it was the first annual gathering of delegates from Nebraska American Legion posts. Most of the one hundred and ten posts then in existence sent representatives to help form the permanent state organization and to carry on the work that had been inaugurated a few months before.

     Not only was this meeting of considerable interest to the veterans themselves, but it was also of interest to the public at large. Since many men had been home from France but a few weeks, this was the first time that all the Nebraska veterans of the World War had really gathered to express themselves. What would these service men do? How did they feel about their experiences in the war? What kind of legislation would they recommend? How did the future look to the man just home from the battlefield? Such were the thoughts in the minds of the people of the state who were anxious to see just how the war might have changed the fighting man.

     It did not take the delegates to this convention long to answer these questions. With the (46) enthusiastic and business-like method which characterizes all gatherings of Legion men, they soon got into action and not only put their organization on a sound, permanent basis, but passed resolutions and endorsed movements that surely must have convinced the public that these young men knew what they were about. First of all, they declared themselves unanimously in favor of old fashioned Americanism and strongly opposed to any radical departure from the kind of government guaranteed by our national constitution. In fact, the stand on this great issue was the dominating spirit of the convention--a spirit that has grown stronger and has taken a more important part in the affairs of the organization as it has grown. There was nothing new about the brand of Americanism that these men wanted, nor were they actuated by selfish motives. Each man seemed to realize that America had just passed through a great crisis; that the world was in the throes of unrest and turmoil; that it was time for straight and sane thinking. The war had put before us a great lesson in loyalty and duty that must now be taken into account and learned if we were to get the most out of the great struggle that had cost so much.

     Perhaps we might pause here and attempt an analysis of the state of mind of the average service man when he returned home from the World War. It is now quite evident that his new point of view had much to do with the spirit that (47) went into the American Legion and the shaping of its destinies in the early years.

     First of all, the man who entered the military service of his country had come out changed in a greater or less degree. One cannot enter the service of his country in war and offer his life to its cause without doing a great deal of thinking. He will ask himself if the country is worth the sacrifice and why it is necessary for him to make it. He will compare his role in the struggle with that of other men, and try to determine what brings about such an order of things. And as he thinks, he will gradualy come to have a new understanding of patriotism, loyalty and duty will have a new meaning to him. Out of it all will emerge a man with a new vision and a new standard of citizenship.

     Then, too, those men that reached Europe, returned home with a new conception of their government. Before they had left the shores of their native land, America had seemed to them a great nation of immense riches that had been in existence many years and had accomplished much. It had been a nation that was much better than all others, and they had presumed that all people living in America had felt the same way about it. They had simply taken for granted that the thousands who came to America to escape the oppression of corrupt governments and to find new opportunities, had left behind their loves and hatreds that had been such an important factor in their lives across the sea. But when the (48) veteran had reached Europe and could look upon America as a foreign land; when he could see the European under the stress of war and observe his hatred for his neighbors; when he could compare America with other nations, the service man gained a new vision of his country that those who remained at home could never get.

     Perhaps the most startling revelation was the youth of America. Heretofore the United States had been an old country. Washington had lived and served his country in the dim ages of long ago. But when the American service man traveled through England, France and Italy and viewed the landmarks of empire builders who were dead and gone long before Columbus started on his perilous journey, he was rudely awakened to the fact that, as nations go, America was still in her formative period. She had started well, but, after all, was she old enough to have passed the experimental stage? Were there not many improvements that could still be made, so that without swerving from our original principles, we could give ourselves better government? Would our country, standing beside nations that had been in existence for centuries, be able to take a place in the re-construction work ,just ahead? Would America be able to compete with those centralized governments that trained their diplomats as they trained their soldiers and who went to the peace table to barter and trade? And would America be able to weld together the great groups of foreign-born who stood apart on (49) national issues; would she be able to develop a national spirit that would hold her population of millions together as a unit?

     These were some of the questions that ran through the minds of the service man as he wallowed in the mud of the trench or toiled at monotonous drill in the training camp. He had thought of other things, of course, and wondered how the war would affect his personal fortunes. But in the main, the whole course of thought had changed him; he was no longer the irresponsible youth who took his country and government as a matter-of-fact thing. He had returned firm in the belief that he was a part of a great and fine government; that, since he, with several million young Americans, constituted a certain power of the government in war, surely he must exert a certain power in peace. Likewise he must serve his country in peace, for the country that is good enough to fight for and die for, ought to be good enough to live for. It was young men with these thoughts in mind who gathered at Omaha to express themselves through the vehicle of the American Legion State Convention.

     The meeting was called to order by President John G. Maher at 10 a. m., October 10, 1919, in the Council Chamber of the City Hall. A short address of welcome was made by Acting Mayor Ure and the remainder of the morning was given ever to the usual activities incident to the organization of a convention. During the afternoon (50) session an address was made by Hon. Samuel R. McKelvie, Governor of Nebraska.

     "I have listened to the reading of the preamble which enunciates the purposes of your organization," said the Governor in the course of his address, "and I do not think I have ever heard a pronouncement which seemed so filled with the spirit and purpose of genuine Americanism as that. I anticipate for your organization a very great degree of progress and success. It is an organization that can be of a very unusual amount of worth while service to the state and the nation. I feel that this is the time now that our country has saved the world, to begin to think of saving ourselves. It seems certain that we must return, if we have departed from any of the principles of our government, to a thorough understanding of and devoted allegiance to the principles of the government through which our country has lived and prospered for one hundred and thirty-one years. These are serious times. These are the times when we are called upon to settle, in a peaceful way, questions that are no less essential, no less important than the questions that confronted us during the great war. In fact, the battles that were fought by you, the service that you rendered throughout those trying hours, was intended as a guarantee to the perpetuation of those principles of the war that were enunciated by our fathers and that have made it possible for us to attain the incomparable position that w have as a nation."

     (51) Since the state organization of the Legion was yet temporary, one of the first steps to be taken by this body was the adoption of a constitution. However, it was soon found that the department constitution must necessarily conform to the national constitution and as the national convention was not to be held until Armistice day, that action would have to be postponed. Therefore it was decided that the Department Executive Committee should be authorized to appoint a sub-committee to draft such a document as soon as the national meeting was over, and that such draft should be submitted to all the posts organized at the time for their action. This was duly done later in the year. Guy Chambers of Lincoln, was appointed the chairman of the sub-committee. Mr. Chambers, Hird Stryker of Omaha, E. K. Hammond of Omaha, and Frank Warner of Norfolk, met at Lincoln in November, drafted the first Department constitution, and put it in the hands of the Department Executive Committee. This body approved the same and instructed the Department Adjutant to submit it to the posts. It was ratified by the necessary two-thirds of the posts in the Department.

     The resolutions passed by this convention are interesting. The stand taken at this time on most of the important issues shows that a great deal of thought was given to these matters and that action was not taken until it was certain that the majority favored it. Most important of all were the ideals expressed regarding law and order, (52) which have had a very important bearing on the activities of the Legion ever since. "The American Legion of the State of Nebraska", reads the resolution, "desires to state clearly to the public that it stands squarely for the enforcement of law and order and the maintenance of American institutions and liberties as fought for in 1776, guaranteed and enunciated in the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Nebraska, and maintained by the blood of our forefathers and our brothers-in-arms who now lie in foreign graves.

     Another resolution that later came to play a very important part in the history of Nebraska dealt with the teaching of the English language. The record of the American Legion's part in this cause will be considered later in this work, but here was the first expression made by the veterans of Nebraska:

     "WHEREAS, the American Legion stands for one hundred percent Americanism and for the intelligent exercise of the rights and duties of American citizenship, and,

     "WHEREAS, we believe that the presence of large numbers of citizens who are uneducated in the English language is detrimental to the welfare of the United States, affording in our country a fertile opportunity for the development of many of the social disorders that now threaten the nations of Europe, therefore,

     "BE IT RESOLVED, That this convention pledge its support to the efforts now being made to (53) insure that the education of American children in all schools be conducted in the English language."

     Another expression that was passed amid great cheering and intense feeling had to do with those aliens who, when America entered the war, withdrew their first citizenship papers in order to escape the duties of a citizen. "Be it resolved," reads this resolution, "that the American Legion of Nebraska urges Congress to enact immediately a law to send those aliens, who withdrew their first papers, back to the country from which they came. The country in which we live and for which we are willing to fight is good enough for us, but this country in which they have lived and prospered, yet were unwilling to fight for, is too good for them."

     One of the charges that has been made against the American Legion both nationally and in the state of Nebraska was that the organization was fostered by some political party. While the action taken at the St. Louis Caucus should have put these rumors definitely to rest, yet certain organizations and individuals who were jealous of the Legion and feared its power, continued to spread propaganda designed to lead the people of Nebraska to believe that the veterans had organized purely as a political machine for selfish purposes. It was imperative that a declaration of principles on this issue be made public at this time, therefore the following resolution was unanimously passed and given wide publicity:

     "WHEREAS, the principles upon which the (54) American Legion was founded require its absolute separation from partisan politics, and from the political fortunes of any individual, whether a member or non-member of the American Legion, and,

     "WHEREAS, it is the duty as a citizen of every active member of the American Legion to take an active part in the solution of the grave social, economic and political questions of the present hour;

     "THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, That the American Legion of Nebraska encourage its members to take an active part in public affairs and in the discussion of the public problems which can be settled only through political channels; but that they be required to do so as individuals and not as members of the American Legion, and that any attempt to use the American Legion or to influence any Post thereof, in favor of any political party or candidate for political office, be cause for expulsion from the Legion and forfeiture of office therein."

     A rather warm argument developed concerning the Legion's stand on universal military training, which was a national issue at the time. Most of the delegates seemed agreed that the military training was of great value to the young men of the country, but some of them were afraid that the system might get away from the government. The war had left a good many veterans somewhat bitter toward a centralized military machine with the power left to a general staff, and while they (55) favored the fundamentals of military training being taught universally, they did not want to make any endorsement of a proposition that might give a small group of officers an opportunity to militarize the nation. After considerable debate a resolution embracing the following ideas was adopted:

     "The American Legion of Nebraska favors, as the backbone of a system of national defense, based on the democratic principle of the obligation of every citizen to defend his country in time of peril, a system of universal military training. We believe the details of such a system should be left to Congress; but we favor such control thereof as will make military training a factor in the Americanization of the youth of the land; make the obligation to serve inseparable from the privileges of citizenship; and insure the removal of the Civilian Army thus created from every taint of militarism, and from complete control of any exclusively military organization."

     Considerable other action was taken by this meeting, besides the working out of the many details incident to the building of a great organization. The convention declared itself against the "conscientious objector" who had refused to serve during the war and who had subsequently been restored to an honorable status as a citizen and discharged with the privileges accorded the men who served. It demanded that the court-martial system of the United States Army be revised and humanized; it expressed itself as in (56) favor of such compensation as would enable the returned service man to rehabilitate himself and obtain a home. They recognized their obligation to their older comrades of previous wars and urged close cooperation between the American Legion and the veteran organizations of other wars. They took up the fight for disabled men, many of whom had been discharged from the service and left in deplorable circumstances, and they urged Congress to take immediate steps to enact legislation that would give these men just consideration and assistance.

     Next in importance to the declaration of principles came the organization work. It was certain at this time that Nebraska would be designated as a "department" of the American Legion and would necessarily need a state executive headquarters and state officers to carry on the work. While the organization had taken a flying start and had accomplished much within a few weeks, it would be necessary to establish many more posts throughout the state. Likewise it would be necessary for the organization to acquaint all service men and the public with its purposes and ideals and just what place in American life it would take. Besides the election of state officers for the coming year and the opening of an executive headquarters, it would also be necessary to send delegates to the first national convention which was to take place at Minneapolis on the following Armistice day.

     Late on the second day the election of  (57) Department Officers took place. Every delegate present seemed to realize that the success of the organization for the next decade depended greatly upon the ability and standing of the man who would head it for the first year. In a great measure, this man would be called upon to formulate policies that would have a lasting influence on the future of the Legion. Likewise, the public would measure the Legion by the man who was to be its first mouthpiece.

     When it came time for the election, the majority of delegates had settled on Earl M. Cline, of Nebraska City. Cline was an outstanding candidate. He had served with distinction in the 89th Division, and had come out of the service with numerous soldier friends. He had been wounded at St. Mihiel, and had risen to the rank of Captain. He also had a wide acquaintance throughout the state, having been a well-known educator, and had since become prominent as an attorney. He had a remarkable ability as a public speaker, and was an ardent advocate of plain, old-fashioned Americanism. He was deliberate in his judgment, and, in every way, splendidly qualified to head the new organization that needed a steady hand at the helm. Cline was duly elected to direct the fortunes of the American Legion of Nebraska for 1920.

     The following officers were also elected to serve with the new Commander: Frank A. Warren Commander of the Norfolk post as Vice Commander; Frank S. Perkins, of Fremont as (58) Treasurer; and Edward P. McDermott, Commander of the Buffalo County Post as the state representative on the national committee. The Executive Committee was made up of two representatives from each Congressional district and the following were selected:

     Shortly after the convention, Commander Cline appointed the writer, then serving as Commander of the Lincoln Post, as Department Adjutant, and a state headquarters was immediately opened at Lincoln. A suite of three rooms were obtained at 313-314 Richards Block. A day or so later a second-hand desk was purchased, a typewriter borrowed, and thus were opened the first Executive offices of the American Legion of Nebraska.

Nomination Committee
Ed. P. McDermott, Kearney
Charles McLaughlin, Omaha
Eugene B. Cain, Falls City
E. J. Moyer, Madison
E. S. Goodrich, Fairbury
Russell Rohrer, Hastings
I. L. Pindell, Sidney

Time and Place Committee
John Lavin, Chairman
H. J. Pinkett, Omaha
E. L. Mahlin, Fremont
Chas. Shores, Utica
W. P. Bemis, Grand Island
Merle Young, Scottsbluff

Finance Committee
Ed. Goodrich, Chairman, Fairbury
LeRoy Reif, Syracuse
Robert Burns, Omaha
M. J. Ryan, Pender
J. Shimerda, Wilbur
H. L. Doty, Hastings
V. W. Jenkins, Hemingford

Resolution Committee
William Ritchie, Jr., Chairman, Omaha
Aubrey Duxbury, Plattsmouth
Anan Raymond, Omaha
Lucian Stark, Hartington
L. Stanley, Aurora
C. H. Epperson, Jr., Clay Center
Ed P. McDermott, Kearney

(60) Constitution and By-Laws Committee
Clinton Brome, Chairman, Omaha
I. Mowry, Tecumseh
R. J. Madden, Omaha
F. C. Radke, Hartington
Charles Brewster, Beatrice
H. A. Prince, Grand Island
E. L. Meyer, Alliance

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