CHAPTER VI
THE LEGION AND THE BOLSHEVIKI
The second session of the caucus began at half past two o'clock Friday afternoon. Like its predecessor it started with a bang. Nominations were made for the third vice-chairman who was to be selected from the marine corps. The first nomination was a wounded man, at the time in the Walter Reed Hospital at Washington and who had won the Distinguished Service Cross at Château-Thierry. Then came the name of Sergeant Woolley of Utah, quickly followed by the name of P.C. Calhoun of Connecticut, put up by Mr. Black of Louisiana; the name of Major Leonard of the District of Columbia also was put in nomination and then the slate was closed.
True to the spirit of the previous meeting the caucus was soon in an uproar of applause for each of the four candidates, three of whom were marched to the stage. Calhoun was elected, with the result that his ardent brother delegates from Connecticut treated him like a football hero by placing him on their shoulders and performing a snake dance. Marines are no more garrulous than sailor men, for Calhoun's speech of acceptance was just about as long as Humphrey's. While Calhoun was being bombed by flashlight cameras Mr. Smoot of Utah moved that a vote of thanks should be tendered to Colonel Roosevelt and other Legion members who had been active in the preliminary work which insured the success of the caucus and this was seconded by Major Wickersham of New York. One of the most rousing ayes of the entire caucus carried the motion.
Cries of "speech" brought Colonel Roosevelt before the footlights. His remarks were just about as long as Humphrey's and Calhoun's. To be specific he said: "Gentlemen, it is going to be a short speech because I think we have got a lot of business to do. Thank you."
Just about this time the committee reports began to come in, the first of which, that of the Credential Committee, brought the question of Bolshevism to the floor of the caucus. The report read as follows:
"We recommend that all delegates to the American Legion selected and now functioning from the various States, districts, and territories, be seated and accredited with full vote, and that all organizations organized and having delegates here be allowed one vote with the exception of the Soldiers and Sailors Council, which delegation the Credential Committee recommends shall be excluded from the caucus."
S.H. Curtin, the representative of the Soldiers and Sailors Council of Seattle, pending the action of the Credential Committee, had been accorded a vote at the previous session on all questions that came up before it. The fact that Colonel Wood, the Secretary, took this action was in line with the general spirit of fair play, which was the keynote of the caucus. The Credential Committee's report elicited shouts of approval. Chairman Lindsley after bringing the house to order again said:
"I understand that the delegate from the Soldiers and Sailors Council is here and asks to be heard. Gentlemen, the members of the Committee, I assume, had full knowledge of facts which warranted that report, but there are men here who have not that knowledge. Shall we hear him?"