LEGION NOT STRIVING TO PREVENT WAR--SKINNER

"The American Legion cannot be thought of as a force striving for the prevention of war," Clarence R. Skinner, professor of Social Ethics at Tufts College and leader of the Boston Community Church, stated yesterday in a discussion with a CRIMSON representative. Professor Skinner, who for some time has been a student of the Legion, explained. "They form a large body of men who have been through a heroic but terrible experience. Whether they realize it or not, fear of war is burned into them. Their first instinct is to prepare against another war, which puts their emphasis on militarism. They tend to wave the flag at radicalism and the menace of war, instead of seeking to study the causes of war and the best methods of removing them."

Tend to Spread Fear of War

Asked if the Legion has done much constructive work. Skinner answered, "They have entered the field of social service to a limited extent, in that they look after sick and unemployed veterans. But beyond this they have little to their credit, and as a body which has been intimately connected with war they have done nothing towards preventing its recurrence. They tend to spread fear of war, a fear which grips all the world, and which we must strive to cast off.

"As for the discussion regarding the Legion's misconduct during the convention. I think it should be remembered that the Legion, as the survivors of a drafted army, are a representative slice of American citizenry, and any large group tends to misbehave when freed from restraining influences. That the legionnaires, in their capacity as military men, were accorded police protection and toleration of violations of the law is to be deplored."