Secretary
McAdoo and George Creel, as we have seen, often stumbled upon fundraising
approaches from outside sources. Indeed, Creel complained in his memoir of the
“flood of people that poured into Washington during the war, each burdened with
some wonderful suggestion that could be imparted only to an executive head.”
Though he conceded it was their “right as citizens, but it was equally the case
that the idea might have real value.”[1]
Such was the case with the Boy Scouts.
 |
| A Boy Scout aides Lady Liberty in raising War Funds. |
As
bond sellers, the Boy Scouts were perfect. In line with their mission,
President Wilson lauded giving “every Scout a wonderful opportunity to do his
share for his country under the slogan ‘Every Scout to Save a Soldier.’”[2]
Not only could they save soldiers; they could do it for free.
Initially,
the young bond salesmen were unsuccessful. Apparently, they had a tendency to
lose their nerve after knocking on the door. Partnering remedied the problem,
and scout tandems sold 139,654 bond subscriptions worth over $23 million in the
First Liberty Loan.[3]
They
outdid themselves in the Second Liberty Loan, increasing subscriptions to
533,280 and accounting for over $102 million in bond sales. “Out of every
eighteen bonds sold in the second Liberty Loan,” a journalist exclaimed, “one
was sold by a boy scout.”[4]
The
success of the boy scouts led the CPI to see the value of children in loan
drives. The Junior Four-Minute Men, who originated outside the organization in
Minnesota, successfully sold War Savings Stamps, leading Creel to expand the
program, and ultimately to release propagandistic lesson plans to public
schools, where teachers would use Four-Minute Man bulletins to explain
subjects, and children would compose their own four minute speeches. Lesson
subjects included why the United States was in the war, the need for the draft,
food conservation, and of course the need to raise money through Liberty Loans.
The initial success led to sanctioning of such lessons by the United States
Bureau of Education.[5]
The
war effort even co-opted Christmas, and children seemed happy enough to
respond. Speaking on holiday gifts, one writer suggested “there never was a better
Christmas gift (better both for give and receiver) than War-Savings Stamps and
Thrift Stamps. The ante can start at 25 cents and go along anywhere up to
$82.40, which would be a card full of the five-dollar kind. Santa Claus has
always been more or less of a side partner of Uncle Sam. Why not?”[6]
Why not indeed. And with Boy Scouts distributing thousands of War Savings Stamp
cards,[7]
kids could easily feel as if they were doing their part and being part of what
was normal for American children at the time.
The
approach of going after children for both fundraising and pro-war education was
unprecedented in US history. It went virtually uncriticized and continued in
World War II.
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[1] George
Creel, 84.
[2] David
Kennedy, 105.
[3] William
Heyliger. “War Leaders for Young America,” Collier’s Magazine, May 25, 1918, 38-9.
[4] William
Heyliger, 39.
[5] George
Creel, 86-87, 91-92.
[6] ---, “Let
Santa Claus in on It,” Collier’s Magazine,
December 22, 1917.
[7] William
Hayliger, 38.
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