Page:The North Carolina Historical Review - Volume 1, Number 1.pdf/28



The War Savings Campaign in North Carolina in 1918 served two purposes in the prosecution of the World War. The first was to bring the war close home to the people—to all the people, the children as well as the adults, the colored people as well as the white. The other was to help finance the war. As a result of the Campaign, $27,649,397 was added to the Treasury of the United States for War purposes.

The organization for the War Savings Campaign was, perhaps, the most complete organization for any purpose that has ever been effected in North Carolina, in that it was designed to include every man, woman and child, in every county, city, town, and township in the State. Beginning with Col. F. H. Fries, of Winston-Salem, as State Director, who held his appointment under the Secretary of the Treasury of the United States, the organization reached all the way out through the township chairman in the remotest township in Dare County in the East and in Cherokee County in the West.

The state organization with its headquarters in Winston-Salem consisted of the State Directors and two Vice-Directors, Mr. W. B. Drake, Jr., of Raleigh, and Mr. Robert N. Page, of Biscoe, Director of Organization, Publicity Manager, Advertising Manager, and a force of field representatives.

Three types of County organization were adopted, one after the other. In the beginning of the capaign the County Chairman was asked to surround himself with an executive committee of ten leading citizens of the county, representing the several professions and businesses. Gradually this type grew into the second which called for a sub-committee for each of the leading community interests. The county organization was finally completed and announced provided for a a chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, publicity manager, executive agents who were, ex-officio, the county superintendent of schools, city superintendents of schools (if there was a city or large town in the county,) county farm demonstrator, county home demonstrator, and county health officer, an executive committee composed of the officers and chairmen of the several subcommittees, a committee on War Savings Societies composed, as a rule, of a representa-