How well the Illinois major hit the nail on the head! The incident on
the transport seems worth recording not only because of the major but
because it shows the general anticipation of what is now the American
Legion. Perhaps it was this general anticipation which is responsible
for the cordial reception that the Legion has had ever since its very
inception in Paris.

No one can lay claim to originating the idea of a veterans'
association, because it was a consensus among the men of the armed
forces of our nation. A certain group of men can take unto themselves
the credit for starting it, for getting the ball rolling, aiding its
momentum, and, what is more important, for guiding it in the right
direction, but no one man or group of men "thought up" the American
Legion. It was the result of what might be called the "spontaneous
opinion" of the army, navy, and marine corps caused by a fusing
together in a common bond of the various elements of the service, just
as spontaneous combustion is brought about by the joint action of
certain chemical elements.

Spontaneous opinion, like spontaneous combustion, is dangerous when
improperly handled and beneficient when rightly directed. That's what
the organizers of the Legion have been and will be mostly concerned
with. They have their elements--these men of the army, navy, and
marine corps, and the organizers mean to direct this united and
organized patriotism into such channels as will make for the welfare
of the United States of America primarily, and, secondarily, for the
welfare of the service men themselves.

Just how much attention this Legion with four million potential
members intends to pay to the United States of America, and just how