^AMERICAN I LEGION Weekly m Vol. 2, No. 31 AUGUST 27, 1920 10c. A COPY I I i REQUIEM The American Expeditionary Force will pass into history on August 31 when the only remaining unit of the army that fought in France, A. E. F. headquarters in Washington, will cease to exist. It sprang from town and crossroads when the call to battle came And grinned and slung its pack upon its back; ' It wrote red Chateau Thierry and the Argonne into fame i And swaggered, roaring, down adventure's track. It took a blasting, killing job and damned it and -went through, It faced six hells as part of every day; In lousy barns and trenches just before the whistle blew It sang of homes three thousand miles away. I It knew the sleepless box car nights, the sweat) the drawn fatigue, » It lined itself with willie and hard bread; Its hobnailed columns pounded France for league on rain-swept league, Its nearest dream of heaven was a bed. i Its days are done and ended now, its Taps are sounding clear, One last long note—"Farewell"—and it is gone. It lives in distant memory but that memory is dear, The soul of it alone still carries on. V \rlI->.~^II-w-i-I T-^~ *\ I-^—^-II-^-.rlJ-w-^lJ-w *l I-w ^1 r-w ^TT-w ^1 I-w ~ *\ ^1 X-w~^ OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE AMERICAN LEGION Entered as second-class matter March 24, ,1930, at the Post Office at New York, N. 7.. under Act of March 3. 187'.'. Price, 52 the year. Published weekly by The Legion Publishing Co&poration. 627 West 43d Street, New York City. Copyright. 1920. by The Legjoh Pubuskdnq Corporation. fK Net Circulation more than Three-quarters of a Million Copies V . .. All Right There Boys! —Let 'em have it i Show 'em what sweet little stenographers you've turned G"T out to be ! Play 'em a tune on your Oliver ! Make 'em like it ! What a war it would have been, without the Machine Gunners ! "Action front" —a peep through the hole- Rat-Rat-Rat-Rat-Rat-Rat-Rat-Rat - Tat Tat Tat Tat Tat Tat Tat Tat— Certainly put the Fear of the Almighty in 'em ! We've got a whole regiment of advertisers lined // Ts the ADVERTISING manager up in their trenches —With just their helmets / 627 w. 43rd Street, New York City sticking over—You can see 'em and that's »r / i would like to see about all— ^ X Made by Shoot a Belt of 30-30's down the line / Advertised with us— Z Mm Because (give reason) - —and watch the results ! -.Next Week . y , Name Moppers Up ' Addr ~~ Post Our Directory of Advertisers so saying, — These Advertisers support us—Let's reciprocate. And tell them by when you write "I saw your ad. in our American Legion Weekly." Or tell the same thing to the salesman from whom you buy their products. MEDICINAL The Lewis AUTO ACCESSORIES School . Inc. .' Akron Rubber Co H. Clay Clover Co., National Salesmen's Training 'Association. The El'-ctHc Storage Bat'ery Co V Newskln Co William Chandler Peak. Goodrich Rubber Co Marcus Lucius B F. MEN'S tVEAR Qulnn Conservatory of M usic *21 Gold S ul Tin- Co Pelman Institute of ' Cluett. Peaborly A Co., Inc 20 America Ilavwooil i in' * Knuipmcnt Co Sweeney School of Auto-Tractor-Aviation'' .' .' VV George Frost Co. , 22 ! 19 Reliable Tire A Rnbb'T Co Leggings. Inc . Corporation V Lockhart Spiral Sfi'rviee SMOKERS' NEEDS Serviceable Tire The Manley-Johnson Corp The V Btrong Tire ft Rubber Co 20 American Tobacco Co Reliable Tailoring Co 19 General Cigar Co AUTO TRUCKS Rambler Shoe Co 22 GIrard Cigar Autocar VV The Company U. S. National Munson Army 8hoe Co. R. J. Reynolds Tobacco Co . BICYCLF.S Wolper's Waitt and Bond, Inc Mea<l Cycle Co , METALS BOOKS Wm. Ilighton A Sous Co SPORTS AND RECREATION Eanvt-Luckctt Corp 24 The New Jersey Zinc Co C. B. Drake Mlchelln Guide Books ' John Polachelt Bronze A Iron Co Field Artillery Reserve Assoc 21 BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES MUSIC PUBLISHER Earle Llederman Box 608, Little Rock 22 J. Fischer & Bro 22 Bueh Motor Co STATIONERY Eaton. Crane Pike '. Comer Mfg. Co OIL A Co Threc-ln-One Oil Co COTTON YARNS PATENT ATTORNEYS TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH Franklin D'Oller & Co 23 V American Telephone A Telegraph Co FIREARMS Lacey A Lacey V Savage Arms Corp PHONOCRAPHS TOILET NECESSITIES Thomas A. Edison. Inc Auto Strop Safety Razor Co ........ JEWELRY The Pepsodent Co C. K. Grouse Co SCHOOLS AND INSTRUCTION Simmons Hardware Co Harrls-Goar Co Benjamin N. Bogue Banta Fe Watch Co Franklin Institute TYPEWRITERS L. W. Sweet, Idc 20 International Accountants Society, Inc. The Oliver Typewriter Co V. Service Stripe—Awarded Advertisers with Us Regularly for Over Six Months VV The Two Stripers Are Beginning to Appear We do not knowingly accept false or fraudulent advertising, or any advertising of an objectionable nature. See "Our Platform," issue of February 6, 1920. Readers arc requested to promptly report any failure on the part of an advertiser to make good any representation contained in an advertisement in The American Legion Weekly. Advertising rates: $'i.00 per agate line. Smallest copy accepted, 14 lines (1 inch.) The Advertising Manager, 627 West 43d Street, N. Y. City Official Publication of *ls$$0ff&>'* The American Legion 627 West Forty-third Street, New York City [Jlllllllllllllllllllllllillilllll OWNED EXCLUSIVELY BY THE AMERICAN LEGION llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll Desdemona's Reign of Terror A Texas Legion Post Steps in When Respect for Law and Decency Becomes a Mockery in a Little Oil-boom Town The main street of Desdemona, Texas, By David Frisbie where the Legion met the forces ot lawlessness and won first the little town of Desde- AT mona, Texas, was hardly making rolling ivories spell more jfre seven. than a stop for wayfarers on And in other houses were the red- the road, a slumberous, dusty commun- lipped women. The word was passed ity wherein a perpetual peace reigned out through the oil lands of the South- as it drowsed in the Southwestern sun- west that the lid was off in Desdemona. shine. And then came OIL—OIL spelt It was not long before this sinister in capital letters, and Desdemona took element, with its inexhaustible supply on life and grew and flourished and of money from its gambling houses, the pumping towers rose by scores and had entrenched itself firmly in the poli- its flat acres became the source of tics of the town and was running Des- potential millions that lured the hosts demona blatantly and shamelessly on of high-booted, brawny adventurers a twenty-four-hour-a-day "wide open" who ever have heard the call to con- basis. quest in far-off places. They came, these treasure-hunters, 'THEN the ring ran up against The in a flood that increased day by day American Legion. Individually until sleepy little Desdemona had blos- for a long time members of Peavy- somed out into a town of twenty thou- Price Post had been quietly combatting sand with banks, hotels and restau- the spread of vice in Desdemona, but rants lining its one main street. They no official action had yet been taken came to prospect and to pioneer but, when the ring decided it would crush as is inevitably the case, there followed this organization of veterans who stood after them a horde of shifty-eyed gen- for ideals that were not compatible try and red-lipped women who did not with gambling houses and others of still \ come to prospect or to pioneer but to more unsavory repute. The veterans prey, at which business they were themselves had sedulously avoided vio- adeptness itself. Top row, left to right, B. F. Bates, past lence, and they intended to continue Houses sprang up in riotous pro- post commander; Horace Soule, post avoiding it. fusion where the shifty-eyed gentry commander; Z. Rochelle, post adju- The ring began with attempts to took on all those who desired to try tant; bottom, Dick Kent, LeRoy Kemp, overawe the Legionnaires by shoving their skill at drawing to a flush or members executive committee guns under their noses and telling them AUGUST 27, 1920 PAGE 3 what they were going to do to them Armed members of the vice ring were volvers ready for instant action, the if they didn't cease their activities parading through the streets in confi- lawless officers of Desdemona were against the reign of vice. Horace dent bravado. They ruled the situa- swaggering in defiance. Soule, a prominent member of the Post tion, they thought. and its present commander, was the But they changed their minds when HTEN o'clock drew near. It was now first upon whom gun play was tried Peavy-Price Post held a meeting that some hours after the time limit out. The town constable, one of the afternoon in a deadly calm. The con- had expired and the crowd was mutter- henchmen of the gambling ring, held stable speedily sent a written apology ing. Here and there in the throng were him up early one morning with a re- professing that he would do anything scattered eighteen Legionnaires sworn volver and challenged him to a duel. the Legion desired and the Legion in as deputies by Captain Aldridge to The postmaster, H. E. Williams, also promptly gave him, the justice of the keep the peace and prevent a riot if a Legionnaire, was the next to look into peace, and the deputy sheriff, twenty- possible.