USA > Iowa > Scott County > History of the war activities of Scott County Iowa, 1917-1918 > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15
66
67
SCOTT COUNTY, IOWA
judges, lawyers, doctors, clergymen, and laymen in every walk of life, some of whom had never before delivered a public speech, canceled im- portant engagements to accept appointments for four minute speeches.
So well were the speakers received that clubs, societies, brother- hoods, tournaments, etc., asked for speakers for routine meetings, and wherever possible, speakers were furnished.
After formal announcement had been made and letters had been written calling for volunteers, the local organization was formed at the Commercial Club on Tuesday evening, October 9th. The meeting was addressed by Prof. Glen N. Merry, of Iowa City, State Field Representa- tive, and very few minutes of explanation were required to enthuse the speakers and to lay the foundation for what was to become a solid, permanent, and successful organization. Following that meeting at the Commercial Club the chairman perfected his organization by the creation of a Committee of Vice-Chairmen. This committee consisted of James J. Lamb, lawyer; S. A. Cohagan, Y. M. C. A. Secretary, and Isaac Petersberger, lawyer. Mr. Lamb was vice-chairman in charge of assignment of speakers; Mr. Cohagan was vice-chairman of enrollment and instruction, and Mr. Petersberger was in charge of theatre arrange- ments. To that committee, aided by the speakers, is due the success that was attained by the organization. The plan had the effect of systematizing the service, so that there was no overlapping and waste of effort, and all angles of the campaign were properly viewed and attended to. The organization remained in charge of Mr. Higgins until about the first of September, 1918, when, on account of a violent injury which he sustained, he was obliged to resign, and Geo. W. Scott, former Mayor of Davenport, a lawyer, and a speaker of prominence, was ap- pointed chairman, and he remained in charge of the organization until it was disbanded and the members officially discharged on December 24, 1918.
There were and are in Davenport about a dozen theatres. Each theatre, commencing the week following organization, was manned by a speaker, and each audience received a message authorized by the United States government, and the speakers found that the audiences were eager for real, authentic information. At only one theatre, so far as the officials of the organization have been informed, during the entire campaign in Davenport, was there anything approaching a cool recep- tion given to a speaker. It is almost proper to say that it was a good thing that this evidence appeared early in the campaign, for it never appeared again. It had been expected that one of the theatres would be attended by an audience which might or might not receive the speaker with open arms. With that in mind, the chairman and his committee deemed it wise to send a man of some physical corpulence, and a man who could be depended upon to say what he left home to say, to fill this assignment. It might be said that this particular speaker is not a public orator, but when he makes up his mind to do a thing he is to be relied upon to do it. He is not a young man. He is not a professional man. But he has agility and a fixed purpose of doing what he sets out to do. At this particular initiatory meeting he mounted the platform after announcement had been made of the purpose and subject of his
68
HISTORY OF WAR ACTIVITIES
talk. It is unfortunate to record that voices rumbled and feet moved, and directly the audience started towards the door. The speaker had by this time begun his nicely prepared discourse. When he saw what was being done and beheld the reception he was getting, needless to say, he did not deliver his set speech. He delivered instead a speech of his own. He ordered the doors closed. He literally "poured" his sentiments all over that audience, which by that time had been halted in its outward course. Before they left that theatre they heard a real speech. It may have exceeded four minutes, but the department has not yet criticised the speaker for exceeding, if he did, the time limit. The speaker of that evening was Robert T. Armil.
At no other time or times thereafter were the efforts of the speakers met with anything but the closest and most fervent attention. The speakers appeared in the campaigns for the various Liberty Loans, for the Red Cross, for the Salvation Army, for the United War Fund Drive, and in addition thereto assisted the government in its campaign for food conservation. They made speeches on an authorized "income tax" campaign, in which facts and figures were presented showing that under the "income tax" law the war was not a rich man's war, if viewed from the fact that the taxes upon the rich man's income were largely to pay the costs, at least to a certain extent, of the war; and the speakers put their shoulders to the wheel for War Savings Stamps.
It is estimated that 250,000 people were addressed in the campaigns conducted by the Four Minute Men in Davenport.
Each and every theatre owner and manager co-operated to his utmost with the local chairman and with the department at Davenport in making the Four Minute Men service a success. Their theatres were thrown open to authorized speakers, and although it may have been the cause of some inconvenience to the theatre managers they at no time shirked their duty on behalf of the Four Minute Men.
At many times during the work of the Four Minute Men letters of commendation were received from Washington and from E. B. Wilson, State Chairman, at Des Moines, for the efficient service which was being given.
In addition to the public speeches, special articles on various sub- jects which were the subjects of bulletins from Washington were writ- ten and published in the newspapers. In this way was conducted the campaign for binoculars and spy-glasses which the government bor- rowed from owners all over the country. In like manner was con- ducted such campaigns as "The Man of the Hour-The Shipbuilder," in which concerted effort was made to obtain laborers for the building of ships, etc. In this way thousands of people were reached who might otherwise have not been addressed on these imporant subjects.
The eternal and everlasting gratitude of the government was be- stowed by the administration upon the workers, and when, on the 24th of December, 1918, the organization was finally disbanded and the speakers and chairman honorably discharged, the President wrote a special letter to the Four Minute Men thanking them and expressing his personal and official gratitude for the service that had been rendered by the Four Minute Men.
The Home Guard
BY CHARLES T. KINDT, Major
Immediately after the declaration of war by the United States, as our National Guard was enlisted into the army, it was deemed necessary to form some kind of military organization that would safeguard our community. The result was the organization of what is now known as the Scott County Home Guard.
A regular military organization was promulgated and incorporated. R. B. Cook was elected President; L. M. Marks, First Vice-President; Paul Lagomarcino, Second Vice-President; Charles T. Kindt, Secretary, and Otto Rieche, Treasurer. The Board of Directors chosen consisted of: John Ploehn representing the Manufacturers, M. Landauer repre- senting the Merchants, Otto Hill representing the Banks, and R. A. Thomson representing the Home Guards. R. B. Cook acting as Secre- tary and Otto Rieche as Treasurer of the board.
The organization was divided into two parts, one a sustaining mem- bership to finance the organization and the other an active membership which was the military end of the organization. Six thousand dollars was subscribed by the various business organizations of Davenport for the purpose of furnishing uniforms, etc., to the military members.
A battalion was formed of some two hundred men. Many changes were made in the personnel of the battalion due to men constantly answering the call for army service. Most of the Home Guard men who were inducted into the service were non-commissioned officers within a few weeks after their entrance into the army as a result of the training they had received in the Home Guard. At the time the armistice was signed most of the men who composed the battalion were business and professional men who could not qualify for the army.
Charles T. Kindt was selected Major of the battalion, and officers of the four companies were:
Company "A"-Captain, Frank A. Hetzel; First Lieutenant, R. P. Hayes; Second Lieutenant, H. R. Smythe.
Company "B"-Captain, R. E. Beede; First Lieutenant, Frank L. Davis; Second Lieutenant, C. E. Alford.
Company "C"-Captain, E. A. Sanford (resigned and replaced by Geo. T. Crowder); First Lieutenant, W. A. Hutton; Second Lieutenant, J. D. Cantwell (resigned and replaced by J. A. Kerrigan).
Company "D"-Captain, C. L. Leigh; First Lieutenant, A. H. Reupke; Second Lieutenant, Chas. F. Cameron.
Lieut. R. A. Thomson was appointed Battalion Adjutant by Major Kindt.
The military organization immediately became active in drilling and in a very short time the entire battalion was in such condition as to be able to give the city any assistance it might require in the way of
69
70
HISTORY OF WAR ACTIVITIES
police protection or guard duty. The organization was called upon on many occasions and proved very efficient. It was on duty for nearly twenty-four hours, continuously, at the time of the celebration of the signing of the armistice, when the handling of the excited throng of thousands of celebrators without a serious accident marring the happy occasion was properly credited in large part to the efficient service of the Home Guard.
A short time after the armistice was signed, the question of dis- banding arose, but the battalion was prevailed upon to remain in existence until such time as the city and county may have other military organizations to take its place.
The Liberty Chorus
BY E. H. HALL, Director
Early in the war singing was recognized as a potent agency for keeping up the morale of both soldiers and civilians.
For this purpose E. H. Hall, Choirmaster of Trinity Cathedral, was appointed by the Council of Defense as Director of Liberty Choruses for Scott county. A large chorus of 250 voices was organized in Davenport and smaller choruses in other parts of the county. The Davenport chorus was the first and the largest to be organized in the state, and the plan formulated for the work here was adopted by many other cities, inquiries coming from numerous other towns and cities to the Scott county Director for suggestions and plans to aid them in getting the work started in their home towns.
The chorus furnished the singing for parades, entrainment of soldiers, registration meetings, naturalization meetings, and patriotic meetings of all kinds throughout the county at all times of the day or night.
The personnel of the chorus was made up from various singing or- ganizations. The church choirs, patriotic leagues, Lend-a-Hand, and Y. W. C. A., all furnishing their quotas. Prominent soloists and teachers, including Mrs. Ludo Bruning-Starbuck, pianist; Mrs. C. M. Cochrane, soprano; Mrs. W. T. Waterman, contralto; Miss Elsie Voss, violinist, and many others giving liberally of their time and talent.
The expense for the music was met by each member purchasing copies of special numbers for their individual use. Contributions of patriotic song books were made by the Schmidt Music Co. and by the Tri-City Piano Co. Trinity Cathedral parish very generously offered the use of the auditorium of the Parish House for rehearsals, and for transportation and many other courtesies the thanks of the chorus are due to Miss Alice French.
The Rotary Club
BY E. M. WHITE, Secretary-Treasurer
The Rotary Club of Davenport believes that it appointed the first Rotary War Service Committee in the country, when such a committee was named by President William Korn, April 9, 1917, three days after the declaration of war. The members of the committee were George E. Decker, Chairman; Charles H. Crowe, Lee J. Dougherty, Sam E. Greene- baum, Charles R. Henderson, Chris. Heuck, William Korn, Paul Lago- marcino, P. O. Pederson, Robert A. Thomson, and E. M. White. Presi- dents Verner Hayward and Charles R. Henderson, in 1917 and 1918, continued the committee.
A fund of $500 was shortly placed at the disposal of this committee, and this was added to from time to time as the war needs grew, an assessment of $1.00 per member per month being levied by the club for the future use of the committee.
Chairman Decker's report to May 27, 1919, stated that the earliest activity of the committee was the distribution of cards to employers who were willing to pledge themselves to re-employ any men who left their jobs to enter military service. Recent inquiry has shown that eighty-three Rotarians had 413 employes in service, that 169 had re- turned, that all were offered their old positions, and that 167 were re- employed.
A Free Employment Bureau was maintained for a time, at a total expense of $371, including $50.00 donated to the Farm Improvement League when the bureau was turned over to the league.
When the Batteries and Supply Company left for camp the club paid $50.00 per month to each Battery and $25.00 to the Supply Company for three months to assist in establishing mess funds.
Joining the Red Cross in a body, and later subscribing $25.00 a month to the local Chapter, the club paid altogether $597 to the Red Cross.
When the draft contingents were leaving, the club with the Patriotic Society and later with the Council of Defense united to give them a proper send-off at the station. In this $111 was expended, until the Council of Defense became financially able to handle the matter alone.
Hearing from Major N. D. Ely that the Batteries at Camp Cody were in need of bedding, the club sent forward $100 at once. It assumed the charge of three French orphans for a year, and accepted the privilege of much other patriotic service.
One of the things in which Rotarians took special satisfaction was the equipping and maintaining and providing for instruction of the Boy Scout Drum and Bugle Corps. The corps now has 172 members, and the club invested $575 in its equipment. If there is a larger or
71
72
HISTORY OF WAR ACTIVITIES
better Boy Scout Drum and Bugle Corps in the country we do not know where it is.
The club has taken an active part in aiding the Boy Scouts, and Rotary Club members assisted in a post-war drive that increased the maintenance fund of the Davenport Boy Scout movement to $8,500 a year for three years.
Members of the club who entered military service were Dr. Herbert M. Decker, Bert L. Halligan, Dr. Gordon P. Harkness, Erwin G. Hol- brook, Dr. F. H. Lamb, Fred W. McDougall, and Fred L. Waterman, most of them serving overseas. Charles S. Huber and Edward K. Put- nam also served overseas for the "Y" and Red Cross, respectively. McDougall was promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel for his efficient work in organizing telephone service behind the lines, and Waterman to Cap- tain, with a majority recommended when the war closed.
Educational Work
Believing that unanimity of opinion depended upon uniformity of information, the Daughters of the American Revolution sponsored a series of meetings at Davenport and at Clinton, at which the Rev. A. M. Judy each week discussed the developments of the war and the under- lying principles for which we were fighting and which were finally victorious. It was a service which proved its value and which might well be extended in another similar emergency or to meet the need for information on some of the knotty problems of peace times.
The Public Schools
BY T. J. COWAN
The Davenport public schools have valid and excellent reasons to feel a genuine thrill of pride in the work undertaken and accomplished through their agencies in this stupendous struggle out of which we are now emerging with high hopes. The youthful patriots of Davenport set a lofty example for their seniors. They could not fight but they could work-and work they did. Impassioned hearts, nimble fingers, and willing hands found no task too great, no need too exacting, no drive too strenuous to daunt their patriotic fervor. The spirit was: "Tell us what you want done-we'll do it."
On May 7, 1917, when the war was yet young so far as we were con- cerned, German was ordered out of the local public schools and all the German books and paraphernalia with it. It came-
" All at once and nothing first, Just as bubbles do when they burst"-
and such a wave of popular and patriotic approval from the youth of Davenport submerged this staid old community as to leave it dum- founded and gasping for. breath. Impromptu incinerations of the Kaiser and his works, accompanied by appropriate incantations at various schools in the city marked the passing of the German.
One of the most important things in connection with the war taken up by the public schools was the governmental plan of War Savings. From early in the year 1918 to the last day of that year the various schools of the city vied with each other in the purchase of Thrift Stamps and the so-called "baby bonds." The sales were published weekly and the competition was keen. Two schools in the east end of the city sold 17,940 Thrift Stamps and 1,740 War Savings Stamps, while two other schools in the west end sold 10,970 Thrift Stamps and 508 War Savings Stamps. The total amount of money realized by the public schools of the city from the sale of War Savings Stamps was $55,523.52.
Even before America had taken up arms against Germany much regular Red Cross work had been done by children in the schools, and this work was continued during the war. The articles made were varied and numerous and some of the records will undoubtedly prove to be interesting reading. Our boys and girls made 543 sweaters, 122 pairs of socks, 63 quilts, 104 scarfs, 156 bath mats, 76 flannel shirts, 63 hel- mets, 98 wristlets, 3,832 shot bags, 5,829 bandages, and numerous other articles in varying numbers. The High school further contributed 18 pajamas, 55 pinafores, 36 dresses, 37 aviator coats, 100 flannel petti- coats, 400 property bags, 20 small comforts, 2 large comforts, and 23 bonnets.
73
74
HISTORY OF WAR ACTIVITIES
In the drive for Junior Red Cross members all of the public schools "went over the top," which means that 25 cents for every boy and girl in each school was collected. The entire sum of money raised by the schools-and this did not include the High school-in support of the Junior Red Cross was $1,744.08. The total number of garments made by the Junior Red Cross in the schools was 3,545. They made 598 bath mats, 1,100 shot bags, 400 property bags, 125 army kits, 200 Red Cross banners, 76 scarfs, 40 caps, 12 pairs of wristlets, 15 bootees, 78 scrap books, 18 pillows, 1,496 wash cloths, and 5,342 gun wipes. The manual training boys made 6 beautiful lamps for nurses' homes, 50 canes for crippled soldiers, 25 tables to go to the devastated districts of France, and 1,000 knitting needles. In a later Junior Red Cross drive for clothing the schools responded with three great truck loads.
During the month of September, 1918, a drive was made for shells and pits to be used by the government in the manufacture of gas masks. In this effort the schools collected approximately seventy-five bushels of this heretofore despised commodity.
Patriotism longs to vent itself in song, so the flag salute with its accompaniment of school community singing early took its place in the system and the song spirit rapidly grew until every school in the list had its patriotic song service varying from once a week to once a day. It created great patriotic enthusiasm and tended to make every phase of war work endeavor more easy of accomplishment. "Over There," "Keep the Home Fires Burning," and "The Long, Long Trail" will be fondly cherished memories in the days to come.
Food was one of the big problems of the war. The old adage, "Take no substitutes" was largely supplanted by the new and most insistent slogan, "Take nothing but substitutes." How to feed the world was not only Herbert Hoover's problem but everybody's. The American garden leaped into great favor and the school garden took its place in the front ranks. All, except two or three schools, had school, or community, gardens. Five hundred boys and girls worked these gardens, thus con- tributing their bit to the general food supply of the nation. The gar- dens ranked from fair to excellent. The value of the produce thus raised was estimated to be $1,500, a large part of which was sold at market places down in the city.
In the drive for Victory Boys and Girls at the close of the war all the schools again participated. Twelve hundred boys and girls pledged themselves to earn and give varying amounts of money from $1.00 to $10.00. The total amount collected for this fund was $4,120.88, of which amount the High school pledged $3,500. This, together with $4,000 pledged and paid by High school students to the Y. M. C. A., easily gives the Davenport High school first place among High schools of the state in that brand of patriotism that finds its outlet in dollars that work.
The cry, "Send us stuff to read" has not been passed by unheeded. Seven hundred books have been donated by the public school children, and the magazines and periodicals will run into the thousands. Seven musical instruments, 400 victrola records, 87 piano-player rolls, and 3,185 copies of sheet music have been donated through the efforts of the schools.
75
SCOTT COUNTY, IOWA
And now, last but by no means least, fifteen French orphans have been adopted by various schools in the city and are being supported by them-a fitting reminder of the obligations we owe to the weak and oppressed of every land in this dawning day of the universal brother- hood of man.
The Ad Club
BY WM. P. RITTER
Never before in the history of the world was a war advertised. As a weapon, advertising was as powerful as any branch of the military forces, because, through it was made possible the raising, the feeding, and the financing of the army and navy.
So much and so generally did the government advertise that on every hand, during the course of the war, by banners, posters, street car cards, and newspapers, we were informed constantly of the things that must be done to win the war. Starting with the first Liberty Loan campaign the use of advertising gradually grew until every branch of the government was advertising; the Treasury Department, its loans; the Fuel Administration, the saving of "A Shovel a Day;" the Food Ad- ministration, "Food will Win the War," and so on throughout the entire list of departments.
And to the Advertising Clubs of the country goes much of the credit for the completeness and dispatch with which the advertising cam- paigns were carried out. Not only did the Advertising Clubs give every support as clubs but the individual members answered the government's call and leaving their positions went to Washington offering their ser- vices in the various advertising campaigns. When the Associated Advertising Clubs of America sent out a call, at the beginning of the war, every club responded by appointing a war committee whose duty it was to carry out any orders the government might be pleased to send out.
Our own club of Davenport had its committee appointed and work- ing the day the order was issued; its first assignment was combatting the spy menace, which it did speedily and thoroughly. Every available space and medium of advertising was used to bring before the people of Davenport the necessity for silence to keep spies from gathering valu- able information.
Again when the United War Work Fund was being raised the club was given distribution of the advertising and the success with which the quota was raised in Davenport attests to the excellent manner in which the advertising was managed. And so on throughout the entire course of the war the Davenport Advertiser's Bureau of the Davenport Commercial Club, as one in a chain of Advertising Clubs, answered every appeal of the government in putting across the greatest advertis- ing campaigns the world has ever seen.
The Y. M. C. A.
BY S. A. COHAGAN, District Secretary
It has been well said that the home of the American soldier was in the Red Triangle Hut. Back of the work of the Army Y. M. C. A. stands the strength and traditions of the city Young Men's Christian Associa- tion. The work done by the local organizations made it possible for the Red Triangle to gear itself to meet its greatest opportunity for service among young men.
The Davenport Association was not found wanting, and when the war ended five members of the staff were in khaki and blue and three of the men saw service in France, and in every war activity the Associa- tion did its full share.
When the time came to raise money and men for the men in the army camps the Davenport Y. M. C. A. was made the district center for association war purposes of a district comprising the counties of Scott, Muscatine, Johnson, and Washington. S. A. Cohagan, General Secre- tary of the Davenport Y. M. C. A., was made District Secretary and served in that capacity throughout the war.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.