Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-04-27

us. has been set aside by the war
! savings committee for Illinois as
Pledge week" An effort will be
made in an intensive drive intended
to reach into every household in
the state to procure signatures
from the more than 100000 resi-
dents Of Illinois to pledge to set
aside something every week or ev-
/ cry month during the remainder OF
the year for investment in thrift or
war savings stamps.
pledge week" will be the SUI
preme test of the patriotism of the
people of Illinois, 1t will show how
much they are willing to do vol
UNFAIRLY to help win the war. 1t
will be the measure of their will
ingness to sacrifice 1t will prove
to the government whether or not
they will do without. in order that
our boys over in France may be
properly equipped. properly fed and
properly backed in the terrific drive
against the German lines which
must end only at Berlin.
The war savings pledge card
which you fill out and sign during
pledge week" will be little> note,
written direct to Uncle Sam, as
surfing You are with him in the war
and intend to stay with him. Neg
lect to sign it will indicate that you
do not care very much whether this
war is won or lost. Absolute re-
fusal to sign it may well raise the
question of your sympathies in this
world fight.
No one is too rich or too poor to
sign one of these pledge cards. The
fact that you already have made
large investments in Liberty bonds
does not relieve you from the duty.
The man of wealth is the man who
can save most His weekly con-
tribution will represent self denial
from a scale of living that is far
above the average. The working
mans weekly contribution will rep
resent self denial from scale of
living far above that of the working
man of any other country in the
world 1t is~hOt a question of what
he can do without, but of what he
will do without.
Even the inmate of an Illinois
poor house lives in luxury as COM
pared to the inhabitants of those
portions of France and Belgium be-
hind the German lines. Not until
one has been in territory occupied
by the enemy can he know what
real sacrifice is.
Every effort will be made to have
every home reached and every man,
woman and child ir the state talked
to. Record will be made of those
who sign and those who refuse to
sign But so great is the task of
organization that there is posi-
bility that some may be overlooked.
This will not release them from
their responsibility to their govern
ment If no formal pledge is pre-
scented to you by war savings
worker you will at least know that
the campaign is on. You should
make mental pledge to yourself
and your government and keep it
religiously.
Illinois quota of war savings
stamps for the year is 1925, 200, 900.
That means $40 for every man, wo-
man and child in the state. Not
more than ten or twelve per cent of
that quota has been sold Some
other states have done much better.
Nebraska already has sold more
than half of it's quota for the year.
Illinois surely is no less patriotic
than Nebraska-no less willing to
sacrifice for victory.
The people of the state must
pledge their government at least
$100,OO0,O 900 during Pledge week :
The pledges will be returned to the
,,T iaA NJ fftf
and towns of the state and the
stamps will be delivered regularly
thereafter during the year and col
lected for. No money will be ham
died during the circulating of the
pledges. There Will be no imme-
diate strain on anyOne's finances.
The Thrift and War Savings stamps
will be purchased, in fact, on easy
monthly or weekly payments.
One thrift stamp a week, costing
% cents, sum within the reach OF
most children, will mean that by
the end of the year you will have
invested $3.50 in government Sc
cuTities. One dollar a week, sum
that most working people, no mat
ter how small their wages, could
easily afford, will mean S38 from
pledge week" to the end of the
year loaned to the government, in
vested in the worlds best security,
and laid away for a rainy day. The
purchase of one War Savings
stamp a week, costing from $4.16
in May to $423 in December, will
mean that at the end of the year
you will have government bonds.
baby bonds-to maturity value of
$3.50 laid away. Five War Savings
stamps a week, with an extra one
now and then, will put you in the
maximum class, with securities OF
a maturity value of $1,000.
The War Savings campaign, aim
ed to secure small loans often from
millions of people, has a purpose
far beyond the simple one Of rails
ing money. Money can be raised
much easier by Liberty Loan drives
or by simply taxing it away from
you, as will have TO be done later
If you won't lend it now. But if
100,000,000 residents of the United
States could be induced to set aside
each week all the money they &C
tually could do without and lend Il
to their government, the result
would be such a flow of money that
the United States could fight this
war from now until Germany is
beaten to her knees, no matter how
many years that would take, with
out borrowing a cent in any other
way.
The real aim OF the War Savings
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