Soldiers of Fortune in Foreign Legion
pproximately forty self-styled
Americans are now serving in the
famous foreign legion of the French
army, scattered in Algeria, Morocco,
Syria and Tonkin. But how many of
that two-score are really citizens of the
United States the French war depart
ment is unable to say. All it knows is
that within the past three years forty
men describing themselves as Americans
have enlisted.
The reason for lack of accurate data
on these self-exiled or self-styled Ameri
cans is that the French army requires
absolutely no identity papers of appli
cants for service in its renowned expedi
tionary corps. A German who has never
been any farther west than Franfurt-on-
the-Main may present himself before a
recruiting officer and join the legion
under the name of Otto Schmidt, Ameri-
can, bom in Hoboken. Similarly a Pole
may join up as Stanislas Skryzskinski,
American born and bred in Cleveland.
Provided the applicant meets the
physical requirements, which are fairly
stiff, the French recruiting authorities
make no investigation. “No questions
asked” is the legion’s rule.
For the legion Etrangère was founded
“to offer refuge,” according to the min
ister of King Louis Philippe who organ
ized it in 1831, “to those foreigners who,
by reason of the troubled state of Europe,
have come within our borders, and whose
presence, unemployed and harassed by
neecssity, may constitute a public dan
ger.” Soon after 1831 membership in the
legion was thrown open to Frenshmen.
From the begining of its history of
nearly 100 years, the legion has normally
been a good forty or fifty per cent
German in makeup. Yet never, according
to the French army chiefs, has that high
percentage made the slightest difference
in the legion’s loyalty to either the white
flag of Louis Philippe or the tricolor
under which France’s armies have
marched during the reign of Napoleon
III and the present republican regime.
The glowing citation which the polyglot
warriors amassed during the late war
are ample proof that their famous song,
“Having no fatherland.
France is our mother.”
is no mere poetical imagery.
The legion’s strength is now close to
twenty thousand men. In times of peace
its effectives are normally not employed
in France proper, but in the colonies. The
regulations provide that legionaires, who
enlist for a five-year first term of
serivce, shall be rotated from Africa to
the far east and back again. For the
legion the French high command tries to
live up to the old recruiting promise of
“Join the army and see world.”
The discipline, as far as regulations
go, is exactly the same as in the regular
French forces. In practice the presence
of a large number of German non-com
missioned officers tends to make it more
strict. However, foreign officers who can
show good service records may be ad
mitted as legion second lieutenants after
a six months’ training period. Oppor-
A
I
tunity for attendance at the French
offiecrs’ training schools is held out to
all ranks of legionnaires who show the
necessary aptitude.
Among the officers now serving with
the legion three are known to be bona
fide Americans who joined the force dur
ing the late war. One certified American
is serving as a first sergeant. But of the
remainder of the required forty, little is
known in official quarters. And official
quarters, keeping to the idea of the
“refuge,” are not anxious to be further
informed.
Bill Smith, a country shopkeeper,
went to the city to buy goods. They
were sent immediately and reached
home before he did. When the boxes
were delivered, Mrs. Smith, who was
keeping the shop, uttered a scream,
seized a hatchet, and began frantically
to open the largest one. “What’s the
matter, Sarah?” asked one of the by
standers, who had watched her in amaze-
ment.
Pale and faint, Mrs. Smith
pointed to an inscription on the box.
It read, “Bill inside.''
— Squib.
i
Page Nineteen
THE UNITED AMERICAN
MAY 1925
I
Overbeck-Cooke Co.
BROKERS
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Stocks, Bonds, Grain and Cotton |
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VISION SPECIALISTS
167 Broadway
Portland, Ore. |
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“No, sah, Ah doan’t neber ride on
dem things,” said an old colored lady,
looking in on the merry-go-round. “Why,
de other day I seen dat Rastus Johnson
git on an’ ride as much as a dollah’s
worth an’ git off at the very same place
he got on at, an’ I sez to him, ’Rastus,’
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—Boston Transcript.
“These firemen must be a frivolous
set,” said Mrs. Dumpling.
“Why?” asked her husband.
“I read in the paper that after the
fire was under control the firemen
played all night on the ruins. Why
didn’t they go home and go to bed like
sensible men, instead of romping about
like children.
— Councilor.
The House Agent — You say you have
no children, gramophone or wireless,
and you don’t keep a dog. You seem
just the quiet tenant the owner insists on.
The House Hunter — I don’t want to
hide anything about my behavior^ so
you might tell the owner that my
fountain-pen squeaks a bit.
— The Bystander.
Coming home from school, Betty said:
“Mother, I told Edna that she must
do unto others as.she would have others
do unto her. Wasn’t that right?” “Yes,”
said mother, “but do you always do
that way yourself?”
“No,” replied
Betty, “but it didn’t hurt to tell her
to, did it?”
How he could feel at home. — An
American visitor in London, buying a
paper from a newsboy, said, “I should
have to pay double the price of this paper
if I were in America.”
“Well,” replied the urchin, “yer can
pay me double, guv’ner, if it’ll make yer
feel more at ‘ome.”
CLASSIFIED
Professions—Business
ATTORNEYS
NELS JACOBSON
806 N. W, Bank Bldg. Main 4416
DAVID E. LOFGREN
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ë 1030 Ch. of Com. Bldg. Brd’wy 0462 f
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The place to trade
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STAPLES
The Jeweler
266 Morrison Street
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Phone Main 1165
Dr. Harold 6. Trommald
DENTIST
Regular office hours every day
Evenings by appointment
805-807 Journal Building
Cor. Yamhill and Broadway,
Portland, Ore.
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Phone Main 4389
I DR. LEIF UNDERDAHL
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DENTIST
Plate and Combination Bridge |
Work a Specialty
Office: 1221 Selling Building
Sixth and Alder, Portland, Oregon |
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Keg. Office Hours
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Eve. by Appointment
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Otsego, Michigan
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