The following is from the speech by Edward J. Neary, member of the National Executive of the American Legion, who testified for the American Legion in the “Case of Civilization Against Hitlerism” last night:
About three years ago it was my privilege to stand on this platform and address a huge mass meeting held in this building by the people of the City of New York in protest against the growing threat of lawlessness and the increasing menace of the gangsters, gunmen and racketeers in our city and state. I spoke at that time as the State Commander of the American Legion, representing 85,000 World War Veterans holding membership in that organization, and I was happy to pledge at that meeting the fullest cooperation of the 85,000 men for whom I spoke to the people of the city and state of New York in the campaign there started to curb the viciousness and violence which was brought into the life of our community by the unrestrained activities of the mobsters. Tonight I participate in this meeting not as the representative of the members of the American Legion in New York State alone, but as the representative designated by our distinguished National Commander, commissioned to speak for the more than one million World War veterans who have banded together in the great American Legion. And I can see a parallel between this meeting and that which I addressed some three years ago. Our purpose then was to protect against crime prevalent in our very midst. Our purpose tonight is to protest a crime, further removed to be sure, but just as compelling and just as deeply impressed in our consciousness.
There are some who might question the right of The American Legion to participate in a meeting of this character. But one of the most important committees functioning under the auspices of The American Legion is the National Americanism Commission which has for its purpose a bigger, better and finer understanding of true Americanism and the establishment of its practices in the daily lives of our citizens.
I say that The American Legion, because of its interest in fostering and perpetuating principles of this type has a right and a duty to participate in a meeting of this character because we feel that this meeting is inspired by love and respect for this type of Americanism.
What Hitler does, what Hitler represents in Germany may seem and be of small concern to most of us in America, but if we are true to American principles, if we have a proper appreciation of American ideals, we cannot sit smug and complacent in their enjoyment in our own land and tolerate or disregard their violation in other lands.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
