Liberty Bond sales soar in Cuba City

One way Americans were asked to show support for the war effort during World War I was by purchasing Liberty Bonds. The bonds were an investment, said to draw interest at 3 1/2 percent. After the first loan drive in the spring of 1917, the total sale of Liberty Bonds in Cuba City was $27,100. That would be over $468,000 today, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics inflation calculator.

Image courtesy of the Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division (LC-USZC4-8046).

Not all towns had such impressive sales. The following blurb from the Platteville Journal was reprinted in the Cuba City News Herald on June 22, 1917:

"Platteville cannot be over proud of the number who subscribed for Liberty Bonds, the sale of which closed last week. It was way below the number subscribed in other towns of this size and places much smaller. Cuba City for example--had a much larger list."

If patriotism was not enough to spur residents to purchase liberty bonds, the newspaper provided its own sort of encouragement by printing the names and amounts of bonds purchased by individuals. The lowest denomination of war bonds listed--$50.00--would be about $864.00 today. The following article appeared after the first big war bond campaign:

Cuba City News Herald, June 15, 1917 

$17,500 IS RAISED

LOCAL LIGHTS LIBERAL LIBERTY LOAN BUYERS

Consequent upon the visit of Mr. Wright, of the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, the following committee was chosen to solicit Liberty Loan Bond buyers and the results of their canvas appear below:

Jake Harris, chairman; Rev. J. J. Maguire, Ferdinand Schmieder, Andrew Hendricks, Jos. Longbotham, S. E. Smalley, Clem Heitkamp, Matt Weber, Henry Willey, L. W. Porter, Tom Byrne, Ed. Hartlip, Pat Cullen, George Wiederhold, Henry Schmieder, Chas. Loeffelholz, C. H. Bartlett, R. F. Conlon, Nic Jungels, and John Clemens.

Andrews, Joe $50.00
Byrne, Thomas E. 300.00
Byrne, John 300.00
Byrne, Ed. 300.00
Bartlett, C. H. 100.00
Byrne, Wm. 100.00
Burbach, Fred 50.00
Brewer Brothers 100.00
Banfield, Thomas 50.00
Byrne, Chas. 50.00
Bertram, C. H. 50.00
Byrne, C. J. 100.00
Bussan, Joe 100.00
Bray, George 50.00
Barker, Robert A. 50.00
Belken, Henry 50.00
Booth, George 50.00
Byrne, Mary Ann 300.00
Brewer, William 50.00
Brady, Dr. D. L. 100.00
Cuba City State Bank 5,000.00
Clemens, John 500.00
Cullen, Patrick 200.00
Cullen, Wm. 50.00
Conlon, R. F. 100.00
Clemens, Chris A. 100.00
Calvert, James J. 100.00
Curtis, W. E. 50.00
Calvert, Thomas 200.00
Clemens, C. C. 50.00
Cullen, George 50.00
Cook, Mrs. 200.00
Doyle, C. P. 200.00
Doyle Children 100.00
Doyle, Margaret E. 100.00
Dall, Margaret 200.00
Deiter, August 50.00
Deiter, Louis 50.00
Daniel, Alfred 100.00
Donohoo, C. D. 100.00
Dall, Ben H. 50.00
Dowling, Frank 100.00
Dowling, Curtis 50.00
Donnell, Dr. J. E. 50.00
Eustice, Charles 100.00
Eddy, Caroline 50.00
Eustice, A. J. 50.00
First National Bank 5,000.00
Farrell, Thomas 100.00
Fiedler, J. A. 50.00
Faherty, Emma 100.00
Fiedler, H. H. 100.00
Flynn, L. C. 50.00
Florine, F. A. 100.00
Fager, Oscar 50.00
Gray, Alfred 150.00
Grimm, Peter 100.00
Grimm, William 50.00
Garvey, George 50.00
Gray, John 50.00
Gill, Solomon 100.00
Gilbert, William 50.00
Galligan, James F. 50.00
Hartlip, Ed. H. 300.00
Hendricks, Andrew H. 50.00
Harris, Jake 500.00
Heitkamp, Clem 50.00
Heil, George F. 100.00
Heil, Adelbert 100.00
Heil, Arthur 100.00
Heil, Peter 100.00
Holt, Henry 50.00
Harris, Dr. J. G. 50.00
Hartung, Joseph 100.00
Hoppenjan, John 50.00
Hird, Joseph 100.00
Hendricks, Matt 300.00
Hoff, John 50.00
Hoff, Herman 50.00
Horsley, James 50.00
Hendricks, John 100.00
Harvey, Jos. 50.00
Huntington, G. A. 100.00
Harker, Albert 50.00
Hauser, Jos. J. 50.00
Haug, Albert 50.00
Heslop, Chris. 100.00
Hindermann, John 50.00
Heil, Mrs. Ann 300.00
Jungels, Nic 50.00
Jansen, Henry 50.00
Johns, John 100.00
Jenkyns, John 100.00
Jones, J. W. 50.00
Jones, Bert 50.00
Jones, Clyde 50.00
Jeffrey, Edward E. 50.00
Jeffrey, T. J. 50.00
Jackson, Arthur T. 50.00
Johns, Joe 50.00
Jenemann, George 50.00
Jenemann, Henry 100.00
Kellner Brothers 100.00
Kingsley, Chris. 200.00
Kivlahan, L. F. & Son 200.00
Kay, John 50.00
Kenney, J. E. 100.00
Kaiser, B. J. 50.00
Longbotham, Jos. 50.00
Linck, Nicholas 100.00
Loeffelholz, Chas. 50.00
Lowe, W. T. 50.00
Lacke, Phil 50.00
Lebben, A. W. 50.00
Lindsay, W. J. 100.00
Lebben, John 50.00
Maguire, Rev. J. J. 200.00
Mering, Michael 100.00
Murphy, Faley 50.00
May, Henry 100.00
McGaughey, B. A. 50.00
Marshall, William 50.00
Marvel, G. W. 100.00
Mitchell, H. W. 100.00
McFarlane & Mattert 200.00
Millman, T. E. 100.00
Minnick, James 100.00
Meloy, H. D. 50.00
McNett, E. L. 100.00
McNett, E. D. 100.00
Osborne, Robt. A. 50.00
Patterson, Cyrus W. 50.00
Premising, Leo 50.00
Pierce, Thomas 50.00
Pinch, James 50.00
Pierce, Robert 50.00
Porter, L. W. 500.00
Peacock, A. L. 100.00
Runde, Clem 50.00
Rasque, Ernest 50.00
Runde, Albert 50.00
Ralph, George C. 50.00
Rochek, Adeline 100.00
Rosemeyer, Anton B. 100.00
Richard, Lewis 100.00
Reese, John 100.00
Richards, George and Chas. 50.00
Riley, William 50.00
Riege, Floyd 50.00
Runde, Mrs. H. 50.00
Runde, Mrs C. 100.00
Runde, Arthur 50.00
Raisbeck, Wm. A. 150.00
Schmieder, Henry 100.00
Schmieder, Ferdinand 100.00
Smalley, Hon. S. E. 100.00
Stender, Fred 50.00
Staver, Jos. 100.00
Stokel, Jos. 100.00
Schneider, John 100.00
Schnorrenberg, Orville 50.00
Schneider, William 50.00
Sampson, Thomas 50.00
Slaats, Frank 50.00
Schuh, Nores B. 50.00
Saltzman, Frank 100.00
Stephens, John 100.00
Smalley, Luverne R. 50.00
Schneider, Jos. 50.00
Stephens, Frank H. 50.00
Schardt, Frank 50.00
Scadden, Ed. 100.00
Scott, H. E. 50.00
Turner, Ed. 50.00
Tebben, Frank 50.00
Toomey, Matt 50.00
Udelhofen, Otto 50.00
Vanatta, Will 50.00
Vosberg, T. J. 50.00
Vosberg, George 100.00
Weber, Matt 50.00
Willey, W. H. 100.00
Wiederhold, George, Jr. 100.00
Willey, Walter H. 100.00
Willey, Thomas 100.00
Whaley, Sam 50.00
Winn, Henry S. 100.00
Webster, Thomas 100.00

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