Peace Campaign

For the American Legion, biggest, richest and most influential of U.S. veteran organizations, its 27th convention, which closed in Chicago last week, was no occasion for oldtime roughhouse play. Throughout a four-day session, the Legion did everything possible to sell itself--or give itself--to the new World War II veterans, male and female. The question was: would they have it?

Retiring National Commander Edward N. Scheiberling, solidly backed by newly-elected Commander John Stelle, onetime Governor of Illinois, answered a firm "yes." Said he: the Legion is a going concern with 1,666,802 members, $15 million in its treasury, and $200 million in property. With all this, said Commander Scheiberling, the new veterans could do as they wished ("You can take over the Legion and run it").

The Old Competition. By last week, the Legion's apparent determination to give itself away had found some 650,000 takers. But the competition for men was stiff, and growing steadily heavier as more came home.

Besides the old and inherently restricted Disabled American Veterans, the Legion's biggest competitor was another oldtimer -- the Veterans of Foreign Wars, headed by Joseph M. Stack. V.F.W. had got the jump on everybody by recruiting over seas, now had 1,250,000 members (one million of them brand new) and two mil lion dollars in the bank. But it still wanted only men with foreign service, and it took no women. Its biggest attraction was an extravagant bonus plan to be pushed in Congress: $3 for each veteran's day of home service; $4 for each overseas day; a flat $500 for a wound; a maximum bonus of $4,500. But the V.F.W. had yet to de clare its willingness to let the youngsters take over.

. . . And the New. Among the 100 or so new veterans' organizations that have popped up in the last four years, only two, the American Veterans of World War II (Amvets) and the American Veterans' Committee, seemed likely to give the veteran veterans a run.

Founded a year ago, Amvets already boasts some 20,000 paid-up members ($4 a year membership fee), a written constitution, and a new National Commander--41-year-old lawyer and Navy veteran Jack W. Hardy. From this start, it has a long way to go. It has little or no money, a small and inexperienced organization, and few veteran-services to offer. But Amvets is ambitious, and bursting with purposes that make practical sense to many a veteran.

The A.V.C. (founded 1943; membership 9,000) has 65% of its strength still in service, thus still operates on a committee basis. Its greatest visible assets are its founder-chairman, cool, mustachioed Charles G. Bolte (rhymes with "whole day"), 25, who enlisted in the British army and lost a leg at El Alamein, its cautious approach to organization and its penchant for political action (the Senate has adopted two A.V.C. proposals for liberalizing the terms of farm loans to veterans).

Like Amvets, A.V.C. is still too young to fly right. But its articulate one-world policy and its attraction for G.I.s politically left of center is drawing members at a 500-a-week clip. Already landed: Veterans Franklin D. Roosevelt Jr. (who heads its New York Housing Committee), Marine Raider Colonel Evans Carlson.

Of the other 100 veteran outfits there was nothing much to say, except that they existed. Most would probably evaporate. But while some 12,000,000 G.I.'s were still unattached, everybody had a technical chance. Joining was still a strong U.S. habit.

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