SPECIAL CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION

DEPARTMENT OF MASSACHUSETTS
THE AMERICAN LEGION

BOSTON, MASS., JAN. 3 AND 31, 1920

OPENING SESSION, SATURDAY, JAN. 3, 1920.

The meeting was called to order at 11.25 A.M., with Department Commander Edward L. Logan as chairman, and Department Adjutant Leo A. Spillane as secretary of the Convention.

Chairman: "Before opening this meeting I desire to say that smoking is forbidden, and the superintendent has requested me to state that the delegates must not smoke. The city authorities have been kind enough to grant us the use of the hall, and so I am sure that you will appreciate the kindness of the municipal authorities and heed their wishes. Before opening this Convention I will appoint a committee to wait upon the Governor, the Mayor and General Edwards, who are in the ante-room, and to escort them to the platform. I will appoint Messrs. Dolan, Cormerais and Lavelle to escort the Governor, the Mayor and General Edwards to the platform. [Much applause while the three men come to the platform.] "I will open the Convention by reading the Preamble to the National Constitution.

For God and Country we associate ourselves together for the following purposes: To uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States of America; to maintain law and order; to foster and perpetuate a one hundred per cent Americanism; to preserve the memories and incidents of our association in the Great War; to inculcate a sense of individual obligation to the community, State and Nation; to combat the autocracy of both the classes and the masses; to make Right the master of Might; to promote peace and good will on earth; to safeguard and transmit to posterity the principles of justice, freedom and democracy; to consecrate and sanctify our comradeship by our devotion to mutual helpfulness.

"I will now call upon the Department Chaplain to open the meeting.'

Chaplain Rev. M. J. O'Connor: "Almighty, Eternal God, we worship Thee in Thy mercy, and we thank Thee for Thy blessings. To Thy unchangeable laws we pledge our fidelity. Do Thou, O loving God, renew Thy blessings upon us, and preserve us from all rashness and injustice. Remove the spirit of hatred and disorder from the hearts of all men, and let peace, peace according to Thy divine will, reign in the world. Assembled here, on the very portal of the new year, in this historic hall consecrated to patriotism, we pledge our all to You and our country, and we renew our faith in her institutions and government, and we offer ourselves, if need be, in defence of all that she stands for. May her honor always be our honor, may her welfare always be our glory. Of Thee, then, eternal God, we implore that all that we may do may be for her honor and glory, and for the best interests of our God-given and God-directed republic.

"Our Father, Who art in Heaven, hallowed by Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. Amen."

Chairman: "We are fortunate to have with us a representative of a great Commonwealth. Massachusetts has always been generous toward its citizen soldiers, and no Commonwealth is prouder of the achievements of its soldiers. Whether in peace or in war, the person whom I have the honor to present to you has shown such an interest in our citizen soldier that his known fondness for those who represent the citizens of our State has become a byword. Therefore I take great pleasure in introducing a friend of the returned soldier, sailor and marine, and a strong advocate of The American Legion, the Governor of this great Commonwealth." [Much applause.]

Governor Calvin Coolidge: "After hearing your Department Commander read the splendid preamble to your Constitution, there is very little left to say. That expresses so well the aspirations of Americans that it ought to be the motto, not only of those who have worn the uniform of their country, but of all those who love and honor and revere America. It is a splendid thing that Massachusetts has been one of the foremost States in organizing and securing the largest representation of returned service men and service women who belong to The American Legion. You have a history, you have ex

periences, and you have great principles that bind you together and that make for the welfare of your association. Those principles and that spirit which carried us through the war must be kept up, must be relied upon forever and eternally to maintain us in peace. To us Americans, who live under a Constitution and under laws that emanate from the whole body of the people, it seems strange to many of us that after the success of more than one hundred and forty years, those principles and that Constitution and those laws should now be questioned. And yet, we have to remember that the Constitution, noble as it is, is only an instrument, written on parchment, and our laws are in statute books, and they have no vigor, no power or meaning unless they dwell in the hearts of all the people. After all, it is perhaps fair to say that America is more a state of mind than anything else, and it is a state of mind that will go far to determine and maintain in a loyal manner our Constitution and our laws. They emanate from the people, and if they are to be changed there are but two avenues into which they can be changed. One is despotism and the other is anarchy, and those who advocate a change in our institutions mean either to bring us into the one or the other of those two things. I think the American people are coming to understand that they must rouse themselves to resist teachings of that kind, and for support they look to that great body, The American Legion. I am glad to stand here on the same platform with that splendid representative of Massachusetts citizenship whom you have done so well to place at the head of the Massachusetts Department of The American Legion, Colonel Edward L. Logan. I am glad, also, to be here in the company of one who belongs to Massachusetts by tradition and spirit, though he did not have the good fortune to be born here, but one in whom Massachusetts takes special pride, and one to whom we desire to have given justice and his rights, the General here, the General who is still wearing on his shoulders the

two stars.

"I was speaking of America. You have justified it, you have sanctified it, you and your comrades, and all of us will defend and protect it. We have seen its progress, - how it has grown from a small beginning. We have seen the justice that it administers; we have seen the open door of opportunity that it gives to all citizens, the chance for success, the chance for advancement. Who is there in America that is prominent, pre-eminently prominent in any walk of

life, who did not begin at the foot of the ladder? That has always been the beginning, but the measure of their strength, and the success of their execution depends upon the answer to whether they have had the opportunity of advancement, and the chance to reach the top; and here under our institutions and our laws that condition is maintained better than anywhere else in the world. We have here great prosperity; we have here a great opportunity; we have here a chance for all our citizens, from whatsoever condition they spring, and whatsoever may be their aspirations. And so, I congratulate you on your principles which you have bonded yourselves together to maintain. I congratulate you upon your patriotism; I congratulate you upon your leaders; but most of all, I congratulate you upon the great body of splendid citizenship that you represent, and let all tyrants and all traitors of our institutions look into your eyes and tremble." [Cheers and much applause.]

Chairman: "I am sure that we are very grateful to the Governor for coming here and expressing the noble sentiments he has just uttered. We appreciate all he has done for us in every way as Governor of the Commonwealth, and I am sure that we pledge him in turn during his term of office, the loyal and hearty support of every member of The American Legion. Our opening meeting was in the heart of the Commonwealth, and then we formed the splendid organization which represents the Massachusetts Department of The American Legion. From there we moved to the capital of the State, and here in the great city of Boston we found our home. Hospitably and generously as we were received in Worcester, I believe as generously and hospitably we will be received here. At the head of our city stands one who has always been actuated by high and noble motives, and whose ability as a chief executive is beyond question. Therefore I take great pleasure in introducing His Honor Mayor Andrew J. Peters of Boston."

Mayor Peters: "Mr. Chairman and Members of The American Legion: It is indeed a pleasure to welcome you here to-day, in the city of Boston, to take part in this, your first meeting here. No place could be more fitting for you to meet than in this hall dedicated to history, and that has more names associated with freedom, with the American institutions, than any other edifice wherever the American flag is found.

"It is a pleasure, too, to see by your presence here to-day the ex

treme interest that you take in the association and the purpose for which it stands. You came to the front at a time when the fundamental institutions of our country were challenged, and now that that challenge was successfully met, thanks to your hardihood, and we are returned together, we can well consider what further public service may await a body of so patriotic citizens as yourselves. That you are not, by the very words of your Constitution, to engage in active politics as a body is something which, I am sure, will work to help your organization. That your presence as a body, your presence in the Commonwealth, in our country, your vigor, your manhood will be a sterling institution, I am certain. That your principles, the Constitution which binds you together as a solid body of citizens, bound to uphold the institutions of America upon the same firm basis which they are to-day, that all these elements will accomplish this, I am certain.

"You have now returned from war to peace, and are now among the civilian population of our State; but there is one great duty before you, and one which I am sure you can render the highest services in. To-day we want the tone and ideal of our public life made higher and more solid. A democracy was only accomplished after years of struggle, and has been preserved in time of war only by the sacrifice of its men in the fight. However, the duty of the patriot is not only to bear the brunt of the fighting, but also to take active part in the civic affairs; and I am sure that you will show the same interest and support the same ideals in public affairs that you did in war. We need you to-day, because you cannot realize the benefits of a democracy without taking active part in the public affairs of that same democracy. We want to have the citizens appreciate that on their shoulders rests the responsibility for the future of our country, and we want you, as citizens, to realize what an opportunity you have, by your actions as a body and as a great power in the community, to work for the betterment of our political conditions, and I congratulate you on that opportunity.

"It is a pleasure, while here in Boston, to have your meeting presided over by one of my old friends, who well merits the confidence, not alone of those who served in his command, not alone of those fellow soldiers who knew him so well in his trying moments, but also of every citizen of Boston and the Commonwealth; and it is a great reflection of credit upon the Massachusetts Department to have selected him to preside over it here.