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About The Oregon statesman. (Salem, Or.) 1916-1980 | View Entire Issue (Aug. 8, 1929)
PAGE FLVE ; ; 9 11 T ' ' 1 1 ' 1 i" "i ii Gommcmd&r McNutt Lauds Oregon Legion For Its Accomplishments in 1929 Service to Disabled is Improved; More Atten tion Given Children; Americanism Ideal is Upheld GREETINGS and well wishes to the American Legion of Oregon are contained in a special message received from Commander Paul McNutt, who is now in Europe on special business for the large organization, which he heads. "The American Legion of Oregon has been conspicuously successful in attaining its Departmental objectives," says Commander McNutt. "Through the cooperation of its offi cers and members, the Oregon Department has aided mater ially in advancing the national organization's four-fold pro gram of unselfish service: Rehabilitation, Child Welfare, Americanism and National Defense. Tou have helped the Amer-O- lean Legion conclude Its first dee. lie approval. Yon have been a prominent factor in making the tenth year of Legion endeavor one of the most active in the his tory of our great organization. "First on our program throughout the past year, as it has been since the inception of our organization, has been our - service to the disabled. That ser vice has been enlarged, improved and expedited. Great headway has been made in our fight, for necessary increased hospital facil ities.. We cannot relax until that fight Is won, which will be when an awakened public conscious ness compels Congress to perform a duty In which it ha sbeea dere lict. Child Welfare .Studied . "Second only to service to the disabled has been our effort to provide more adequately for child welfare. Substantial progress has marked oar endeavor. Much advaatageous legislation has been secured. Marked improvement lias been registered in the execu tion of existing legislation. The American Legion has fulfilled its duty of guardianship for the or phans and dependent children of the war veteran. "Third on our program has been Ameriacnism. New goals have been achieved in our ad vancement of public education, development of junior baseball, promotion of the Boy Scout move ment, assimilation of the foreign born, community service, disaster relief work, and elevation of the general standard of American citizenship. "Fourth, but by no means least, has been our fight for an adequate national defense. Our most conspicuous effort was the successful fight for the passage of the cruiser bill. Tangible MARSHFIELD MAY WIN Corps Practices Nights and on Sundays ' BIG IMPROVEMENT SEEN - MARSHFTET.TV Aueunt 7. If consistent practice and effort count for anything, then the Marshfield American Legion drum corps stands a favorable chance of winning first place at Salem this week, when nearly all corps of the state, the host city's excluded, will compete for hon ors. For weeks the Marshfield corps members have held nightly and Sunday practices, drilling for hours and long after darkness has faUen. Before they left for Salem the bugling, drumming and maneuv ering was as near perfection as Is possible for the members to at tain. They are now far superior in their work to last year when they won a high place in- state competition at Medford. -The great majority of those who plan to attend from here will leave Coos Bay Tuesday and Wednesday. Successful Year The American Legion, depart. ment of Oregon, has just finished the most successful year it has had in Its ten years of existence. It has carried out a very exten- Welcome Legionnaires and Auxiliary Members to Salem gains hare been made in oar campaign for public support of the National Defense Act. The campaign ' must continue with vigor. The American .Legion can declare no armistice with those who seek to destroy our nation by rendering it helpless. So long as our organization exists, its re sources and Its energies must be devoted to the task of seeing to it that this nation maintains a na tional defense adequate to pro. tect tha nation and the institu tions under which It thrives. Membership Increased "Our membership has In creased. Greater strength has enabled us to render greater ser vice. It will continue to increase. And as we grow, let us never falter in our willingness to give all that we have to our country without thought of reward, save- the accomplishment of a high purpose. For we hare a high pur. pose, simply stated in the pream ble of our constitution, so that all may see and understand. We stand for God and Country! No purpose is higher than that" Minatuie Plane In Air for Time SAN JOSE, Calif. A record flight of 20 minutes was made by one of the airplanes entered in the model airplane contest con ducted here recently. Kermit Van Every, of this city, constructed the plane which, during the rec ord flight, attained an altitude estimated at 800 feet. During the year 1927 the total amount of United States air mail was 1,222,843 pounds. In 1928 it leaped to 3,642,059 pounds. o - slve program and has participat ed in .all community activities throughout the state and its 100 posts have been, a big factor In the development of the state and community interest under the leadership of Ben S. Fisher of Marshfield, as Btate commander. One of the most outstanding accomplishments of the legion has been the establishing of the "Oregon system" for taking care of the sick and disabled at the United States- Veterans hospital at Portland. This new hospital was dedicated In March and the legion and auxiliary have estab lished a full time service officer to take care of the sick and dis abled and their families while in the hospital. In addition to this they have supplied the veteran with all of his needs and furnish ed him with clothing and secured a job upon being discharged from the hospital. The legion has completed year of extensive service among: the children of ex-service men after a careful survey the legion is pleased to announce that there Is not a single child of ex-service men in need in the entire state, Go-Getter v. r 1 This, ladles and gentlemen. Is Ray Bassett, who, as adjutant of the Salem post, has an enviable record for getting things done. Alhambra Field Going to be Exceient; Cost Goes to $1,000,000 Airport investments totaling close to $2,000,000 are being made by the Western Air'Express, or for that company, according to figures Just given out by offi cials of the air transport concern. The major Investment is being made by Western Air Express at its new airport on Valley boule vard. near Alhambra. where more than 11,000,000 Is being expend ed. On the shores of San Francisco a second hugh airport, costing approximately $800,000 is being constructed as the San Francisco terminal of Western Air Express At Albuquerque. N. M.. $75,000 Is being spent on a new airport. At Salt Lake City Improvements costing $50,000 have been made at the municipal airport. At Kansas City $75,000 is be ing expended on improvements. At Kingman an investment of $35,000 Is being made. At Amarillo $50,000 is being expended. The airport being constructed by Western Air on Valley boule vard will be the main terminal of the company and it is destined to be one of the finest airports in the world. The site of 188 acres was purchased from the City of Pasadena. The Improve ments have advanced to such an extent that the company has abandoned its previous terminal ?t Vail filed and is now operat ing Its planes off the Valley boul evard airport, which is to be of ficially known as Western Air Ex press airport. Unique among the Improve ments is a hangar built in hexa gon shape with six doors, each 120 feet wide. The doors are op erated by electricity and all six may be opened within 30 seconds. The hexagon hangar is believed to be the largest airplane hangar in the world and Is the first of the design to be constructed. It was conceived by C. C. Cole, superin tendent of operations for Western Air Express, and W. Y. Eaves, of the Eaves Construction Company In suze itthe? ? ? T The Btate of Idaho now owns an airplane. It is being used as necessity arises by highway en gineers for preliminary surveys, AIRPORT OUTLAY IS BIG AIUNT CAPITOL ML E First Time in History of Legion That Such Spot Was Utilized Legionnaires who are going to make the state capltol their bus iness headquarters for the next three days may know It, and again they may not, bat the fact remains: this Is the first time in the history of Legion conventions in the United States that doors of a state house have been thrown open to them for meeting pur poses. Just how the inspiration to ask the stats of Oregon for such a special favor dawned no one cares. It did. And the Salem Legion com mission saw to it that resolutions were introduced into the senate at the last regular session asking use of the senate chamber and the house ef representatives for the convention. Permission was read ily granted, desplted the unusual ness of ths special legislative en actment . Hoes Says Halls Beady Secretary of State Hal Hoss, as custodian of ths solon's cham bers, has seen to it that ths big halls are In readiness for the Le gion and Auxiliary for their first meetings today, and has also commandeered five or six state office rooms for- use of ths Le gion committees. The ex-service men: will use thw nous for their sessions, and the Auxiliary will meet n the senate chamber. Com mittees of the Auxiliary will hold their sessions in Eaton hall, on the Willamette campns nearby. Seats for 195 Legionnaires, the total number entitled 'to .vote as delegates, hare been provided. Working with Secretary Hoss in preparing the legislative chambers for the event hare been commit tees from the Salem Post and Auxiliary, Cowers and decora tions having been left In their hands. Although even more persons will be in session at the two con ventlons meeting than usual at the legislative sittings, the secre tary of state says the machinery of state Is expected to function as usual and with no interference from the hundreds of temporary occupants. But who says the switchboard operator, and elevat or operators, not to mention the postman, won't notice the differ ence? 10 SPEED SERVICE Flying time of the transconti nental air mail planes, which has recently been cut to 31 hours be tween the coasts, will be further reduced by the use of auxiliary amphibian planes at both the Chi cago and New York terminals. Test flights have already been started at the former city with planes, which meet the inbound land craft at Chicago's municipal airport and fly uptown, landing the mall sacks in Lake Michigan within ten minutes of the post of fice. Fifty minutes has previous ly been required to move the west and east coast air mail from the landing field to the post office by motor truck. The amphibian planes fly the distance in nine minutes. New York City air mail is land ed, at either Newark or Hadley Field, N. J., forty-five minutes and two hours respectively by truck from the Manhattan post office. . By ferrying the mail from either of these airports, iu planes which can land in the North Riv er, within six or seven minutes of the central post office, from one to two hours will be saved in the dispatch of letters over the 2,680 miles transcontinental air way. Air passenger services have also started a similar service at Chicago. Numerous improvements on the airport of Ogden, Utah, are con templated. A contract already has been let for building of a pipe line to water the field. MEETING M l PLANES Through the Jerryscope By JERRY OWEN Mditor rtt Orefim Lepinnair Hmtionai President America Legion frees Aseociation This job of writing a column isn't lik.e making lore to wi dow -you aa overdo is. I -o-o-. And there are those unkind en ough to say that I overdid it with my first effort. But a pox on those jealous ones. Yon can only lead a read er, to a column; you cant make him read it the lady who found after she got on the beaeh that she had put her sun-salt on backwards, I am most embarrassed at the re quest of Sheldon Sackett that I contribute something to his great tambly Journal. -O-O-O- 7n ths first place, ftn not funny fifes Rufe Whit, end man of the Capital Post drum corps. Not even to look ' at. Except en occasions. And rd rather hear nothing about them. -O-O-O- And then. I'm circumscribed. As coaenter of a column of honey in The Oregon Legionnaire, I hare the satisfaction of knowing my audience. What X might say to 1Z.O0O Legionnaires and those members of the Auxiliary who don't burn ths sheet as soon as the. postman sticks it in their mail boxes might conceivably be out of place in home and fireside paper such as this great medium of the Willamette Valley sector. -O-O-O-And another thins;. I can nice bic type 10 point at least and lots of astericlcs la my ews cairnwa, thns covering whits space at an astonishing pace witbont writing much. -O-O-O- But here Tin doing the beet I can and yon will admit that I've cov ered quite a bit of space already without eaytntf stnuthtna. And when am I ooixa to start? Listen. friends, when one has nothing to say, the longer he takes to say it. -O-O-O- Salem has never before been host to an American Legion con ventlon. Prob'ly it's just as well that the Capital City waited tor 11 years after the well known war: Some of ns bewhiskered ol' timers can recall ths unrestrained verve (That's a good word: I like it) and enthusiasm that nearly wrecked some of the communities that acted as hosts to earlier con claves of what was then an in Cant organisation of young men who had not all been weaned from the bottle. Oakland and Pontiac Distributors, Written especially for the Legionnaires visiting thti 11 annual state convention But now the boys are much older, snnch more sedate, nanch less given to whoopee and noise. (Yeh, and ni bet Friday night will make me oat a liar!) -O-O-O- I can look back with pleasant. albeit haxy (Please get oft my foot!) memories of some of the conventions In the "good ol' days." But I won't, except to men tion en passant (I think that's Freneh. Gabe) the fact that Prine- vllle never recovered its equilib rium after the thunderin' herd passed through that lastfrontler some years ago. Crumbling ruins of the once palatial Ochoco Inn marked the spot where headquar ters were established. -O-O-O- Fm told that the Marion Hotel has withstood the onslaughts of various legislatures and their ac companying lobbies with rare for titude for lo. these manu vears and has come through virtuallu scathe less. o it may be that a quiet h i convention of several thousand btrds engaged in reACvin the stir ring days of 17 and '18 may roll over it unnoticed. Did I say un noticed? Well, hardly that. -O-O-O- A few hints to the citizenry of Salem may not be amiss in this emergency. It is not necessary to stay indoors daring the morning hours when business sessions are being held in ths state capltol building. And it is reasonably safe to venture out in the early eve ning, properly armed. After mid night, unless special police squads are furnished, sorties of cltixens will be staged at their own peril. -O-O-O- Ths loud and ceaseless thumping you will notice at all hours of ths day' and certainly all hours of the night especially the smaller onss is not distant thunder. Nor is it an echo of the rolling barrages of war-time. IVs a disease. From it, all drum corps members suffer and it breaks out with peculiar virulent ey at Legion conventions. Deli cate ear-drums should be protected by cotton batting. Hiding the head under bed-clothes is also advised. No method has yet been devised to elvmrnate the nuisance. -O-O-O-Large groups of excited per sons gathered -on street comers and loudly ,harangning do not indicate th'eT Imminence of a riot. It is probably Scappooee delegates tryiag to convince the Baker contingent that the 1830 convention should be held In Amity. -O-O-O- Don't jump to conclusions. The staggering youth and loud-mouthed crap-shooter displaying ribbons and interfering with traffic are not necessarily Legionnaires. A little figuring will convince you that one was probably 12 and the other seven years of age at the time when olive drab was a fash ionable shade for men. -O-O-O- The funny little horizon blue caps, like the Frogs usta wear. mark the wearers as members of La Societe des Quarante Hommes et Huit Chevaux. the fun branch of the American Legion. The dark er caps are usually post headgear of delegates and others. -O-O-O- The young man in derby hat and tight-fitting coat who nose-dives into a bucket of water on various and sundry corners is probably Mat imith, better known as Smitty. catey -O-O-O- . The dignified gentleman wnose impromptu drum and bugle corps cracks the welkin (Not a difficult task, so I'm told) at 4 a. m. very likely is G. Lane (Blue) Goodell. past department commander of the Legion. -O-O-O-Then there is Windy" Wil klns of Condon who has a pen chant for sleeping in fountains or horse troughs; Don Graham of Prlneville who loses his voice the second day of the convention following numerous cauenses; Banks Mortimer of Hood River, who steals white coats .from train porters and spends three days looking for his uppers; Phil Jackson of Portland who has several or iginal ways of spending his time; Doc. A. O. Bailey of St. Helens who is still trying to live down his term ma Depart ment Chaplain; Neil Btorfitt of Astoria, grand chef de gare of the 40 et 8, who has a flair for Buddies Welcome To Commercial Cigar Store .. W. R. Kane CIGARS, CONFECTIONS, CARD ROOM, MAGAZINES mademoiselles who can under stand what he thinks is French ; Rex Parellus of Portland who is happier close to an Indian reservation; Heinle Fluhrer of Medford who is literally up in the air in his new Joj -riding plane; Jimmic but I just hap pened to think, I'm not getting paid for this junk so why try to fill any more pace? I mighr get s bill for type-setting. $1 i (Three cash awards go to tha first three winners In the general legion drum corps competition Friday night. First place is to receive $100 in cash. Winners of second honors are to receive $60 in cash while the third place award is to be $40 in cash. In addition, corps are to share $1,000 for their expenses, the-pfo rata distribution being made on a basis of the number of men and the number of miles traveled. Salem has thus provided $1200 in cash for the competition and in addition four prized trophies will be distributed to- the winners in the competition. Regular dally passenger service has been established between New York and Boston by Colonial Air Transport. CJS 1 III nniiMonnnpii mrlu unum uunro mmu Salem extend to the Auxiliary a most cordial 13he MARION HOTEL legionnaires greeting. Salem Oregon V Ladies