HISTORY OF WAR ACTIVITIES OF SCOTT COUNTY IOWA 1917-1918 ED. Ralph W. Cram. Davenport, Iowa: Scott Co. Council of National Defense. "Financing the War" The Liberty Loans By A.F. Dawson, County Chairman. From the time the government made its first call upon our citizens to buy their share of Liberty Bonds for the conduct of the war, down to the last call for Victory Loan, the people of Davenport and Scott county responded in full measure to each request, and in every one of the five loans oversubscribed their quota. Scott county's subscriptions to the five issues reached the splendid total of $22,000,000. When the first call came in May, 1917- thirty days after the declaration of the war against Germany- it found Davenport, like every other city in the United States, without an organization for carrying forward speedily and efficiently the task of selling millions of government securities to the people. Scott county was asked to subscribe $1,500,000 to the first Liberty Loan and subscriptions closed June 15th. There was only about thirty days in which to conduct the necessary campaign of education, bring together an organization and do the soliciting. The first step was taken by the Davenport Clearing House Association, which was designated a Liberty Loan Committee with A.F. Dawson, chairman and empowered it to take whatever action was required. Active publicity work began at once, and every bank in Davenport invited subscriptions to the loan. Thirty thousand folders were printed and distributed setting forth the merits of the loan and explaining how to purchase the bonds. To encourage their sale the banks agreed to loan to purchasers at one per cent below the going rate, and to encourage the sale of bonds could be purchased on small weekly payments. A call was issued for volunteer solicitors, and at a meeting held at the Davenport Commercial Club June 4th, eighty men enrolled for the work of making a canvass of the city for the sale of bonds. The city was divided into districts, and the solicitors worked in pairs. The first day's work brought in $50,200 in sales. On the second day, when Davenport was registering her young men for military service under the selective service act, the solicitors brought in $102,800 in subscriptions. When the campaign closed June 15th Scott county's response totaled $1,542,600. Of this amount all but $30,000 had been subscribed in the city of Davenport. ...to be continued... Cathy Joynt Labath Scott Co, IA USGenWeb Project http://www.celticcousins.net/scott/index.htm