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Legion77ie Jlmerican f MIGHTY GOOD ADVICE," SAYS THIS HARD-RIDING TEXAS COW PUNCHER "AFTER RIDING HERD from sun-up to sun-down, the chuck- wagon looks mighty good to me," says Fred Mc Daniel fabove, also right}. "But I wouldn't enjoy my 'chuck' half as much without the pleasure I get from smoking Camels with my meals and afterwards. After a good meal and Camels I feel plenty O.K. Camels set me right! And they never get on my nerves." Smoking Camels, you enjoy a sense of ease while eating, and afterwards too! "HAT Fred McDaniel says w:about Camels is backed up 100% by baseball's "Iron Man," Lou Gehrig— by Frank Buck, of "Bring 'Em Back Alive" fame — by Eleanor Tennant, outstanding woman tennis coach — and by millions of other Camel smokers in all walks of life. BUSY SECRETARY. "I smoke Camels,"says at- Enjoy Camels at every meal. They tractive Joselyn Libby. speed up the flow of digestive fluids. "Camels put more fun Increase alkalinity. Help you enjoy into eating and smok- COSTLIER TOBACCOS food. Camels set you right! ing too. So many girls smoke Camels." CAMELS ARE MADE FROM FINER, MORE EXPENSIVE TOBACCOS ...TURKISH AND DOMESTIC .. .T HAN ANY OTHER POPULAR BRAND WHOEVER originated the idea that em- that they are deplored by even the most enthusiastic ployers and employes have their interests supporters of collective bargaining. Nor is there any necessarily opposed has a lot to answer for use pleading for law and order so long as we tolerate when he comes to judgment. Intelligent injustice and fail to provide any lawful, orderly method employers and intelligent employes both know that for righting unjust conditions. unless the business succeeds and unless the people who Collective bargaining cannot be to any important work in it are well treated, it cannot continue and they degree effective if we simultaneously enforce our pres- will all be losers. ent laws. Law enforcement would prevent the only Most people want to be fair, want to give value for kind of mass action that gets results. And we seem to value whether they meet payrolls or draw pay enve- be under the impression that mass action is the only lopes. This is how it looks to me after a good many means of enforcing collective bargaining. This impres- years as an employer. Yet we have in this country of sion is incorrect. ours a situation where despite the fair-minded majori- In this misconception lies our sole difficulty. There is ties on both sides of the fence, violent strife frequently open an effective way to enforce collective bargaining breaks out. How can this occur? without resort to force. But before we can make use of It arises because neither the worker nor his boss is, it there must be some basic statement in law of the under existing conditions, always free to act as liberally rights involved in the employer-employe relationship. as he desires in dealing with the other fellow. An em- We are floundering in major difficulties from which we ployer, no matter how fair his intentions, cannot raise can emerge by only one road: We must have a legal wages greatly if his competitors will not. Any attempt statement of the rights of labor. to set an example of higher wage scales to equally effi- In most respects our laws covering the rights of prop- cient competitors may put him in receivership by in- erty seem adequate. But the rights of labor are not creasing his labor costs more than he can get back in his adequately protected. The reason for property rights selling price. One recalcitrant may block an entire and labor rights coming into conflict is that the dispute industry's desire to do better for the people on its pax - is usually concerned with the division of available in- rolls. come which is jointly earned by the property and by the No wonder that both the employer and the employe labor of the people who work there. sometimes under these conditions feel despair or resort Before now the world has frequently been torn by a to inherently undesirable methods. The employer conflict of interests. As long as either of two conflicting who wants to be fair may have his hands tied. The interests—in the situation under consideration, this employe who feels that he is getting a raw deal and interest is that of labor—remains unprotected by laws has no hope of any other effective remedy for his which state its rights, the unprotected group has ef- troubles reaches for a hefty club. No one can fairly fective recourse only to force and violence. Each time blame him. Yet the fact remains that such industrial in the history of the world when such a conflict became strife contains the seed of revolutions exactly like some too serious for comfort, laws were developed which we have seen upset democratic government in other stated the current public opinion of the rights in- lands. volved. As we developed such laws in shape satisfac- One of our gravest national needs is a method to tory to the majority, enforcement of the stated rights remove the basic reason for industrial violence. We became a comparatively simple task involving no need not undertake any program aimed at reforming violence. the morals of the world, nor need we indulge in any Is it not, then, apparent that there exists a way by other form of impractical idealism. There exist which we can avoid the violence which has appeared in facts to be observed. From these it should be pos- the relationship between labor and capital? Is it not sible for us to draw some accurate conclusions for plain that we can quickly end this lawlessness by re- avoiding the very real dangers of violent industrial moving the underlying cause, by developing laws which strife. state the relative rights of capital and of labor on a It long since became apparent to the general public basis which meets the approval of a majority of our that labor does not always automatically get its just people? due. The need for getting labor its due brought collec- Until we have such a method working smoothly, we tive bargaining into existence. Obviously, collective cannot hope to avert industrial violence. Until then bargaining is ineffective if the it is useless to look for law other fellow says "No." The and order to be maintained next natural step was mass ac- Jay C. Hormel is president of Geo. A. Hormel & in the face of industrial injus- tion. But mass action can be Company of Austin, Minnesota. As head of this tice arising from either side of effectual only as it becomes meat packing business, he has given a great deal the fence. Only when this basic violent and lawless. cause of lawlessness is removed of attention to developing methods of wage pay- Thus we have as a common shall we have taken a long step ment and other aspects industrial relationships spectacle in our national life of toward maintaining unshaken which would at strikes of varying degrees of the same time bring greater those American institutions security violence and lawlessness, some to the workers and lead to less friction which we cherish above all of these going to such extremes between employe and employer others. JANUARY, 1937 — CforQodandcountry , we associate ourselves togetherjor thefollowing purposes: (Jo uphold and defend the Constitution theU.nitedStates ofAmerica; to maintain law and order; tofoster andperpetuate a one hundredpercent (Tlmericanism of r topreserve the memories and incidents ofour association in theQreat War; to inculcate a sense ofindividual obligation to the com- munity,slate andnation; to combat the autocracy ofboth the classes andthe masses; to make riyht the master ofmight; topromote peace andgood willon earth ;lo safeguardand transmit to posterity the principles qfjustice.Jreedom and democracy; to conse- crate andsanctiff our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.— Preamble to the Constitution ofThe American Legion. ^The American January, 1937 Vol. 22, No. 1 LegionMONTHLY Published Monthly by The American Legion, 4$; West lid Street, Chicago, Illinois EXECUTIVE AND ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICES EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING OFFICES Indianapolis , Indiana 521 Fifth Avenue, New York suspense is over. We've CONTENTS FURTHER statistics: One simple THEalways known who, why and reason why the New York Na- ALL'S WELL Cover what. Last September, at Cleve- tional Convention of 1937 will be BY J. W. SCHLAIKJER where. the biggest ever is that York land, we found out And now LABOR AND THE LAW 1 New we know when. By Jay C. Hormel will be entertaining the biggest Le- OGLESBY CARSON FIGURES IT gion ever. Once before—in 1930-31 SEPTEMBER 20, 21, 22, 23 next. OUT 5 —has the Legion exceeded the mil- By George Herbert Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, lion mark. During this official year Illustration by L. R. Gustavson Thursday. The place, New York City. BAD ACTOR 6 of 1936-37 it will reach and pass the The occasion, the Nineteenth Na- By Clifford W. Kennedy million mark earlier and by a larger tional Convention of The American Illustrations by Frank Street margin than six years ago. That's ARMS THE 10 Legion. The biggest, grandest, most AND RADIO not a promise— it's a statement. impressive, most to-be-memorable in By James G. Harborb FOUND TREASURE 12 Legion history. If you think this is factors go into the build- By Irving Bacheller MANY ing of membership in any just liverwurst cut out this paragraph Illustrations by Graltan Condon up and make us eat it in public just be- THE DATES ARE SEPTEMBER organization, but Factor Number fore the final gavel bangs down next 20-23 14 One is to build up the organization National Adjutant fall.