Judge, 1918-01-05 · page 20 of 28
Judge — January 5, 1918 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon** but a feature article documenting Judge magazine's successful charity drive to assemble comfort kits for American soldiers in World War I trenches. The photographs show the assembly-line operation at a New York loft where volunteers packed 15,132 kits with items like tobacco, candy, stationery, and playing cards—over 300,000 individual articles total. The article celebrates civic participation: the American Defense Society, Leslie-Judge Company employees, Boy Scouts, and unaffiliated volunteers worked together. Each kit was carefully assembled, boxed, and shipped via Government pier to France for trench delivery. This represents Judge's patriotic journalism during the war, promoting national unity and support for troops. The detailed documentation and photographs serve as propaganda showing American organized generosity and home-front mobilization for the war effort.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
15,132 Kits How They Were Packed UDGE'S Trench Christmas J campaign was a complete success. Contributions came in from every state in the Union, from Mexico, Canada, Alaska, the Philippines, Cuba; and even from men in the service. The members of The American Defense Society throughout the country gave liberally and helped to raise funds. Branch offices of Tue Lestre-Jupce Company from coast to coast sent in contribu- tios The employees of The Schweinler Press, where JupG is printed, made up a conside able sum. In all THOUSAND FIVE DRED AND FORT DOLLARS was received. This meant that no less than 15,086 kits had to be assembled, packed and shipped. Actually 132 were sent. Picture to yourself how many large pack- ing cases that required; the space they would occupy when stacked up; the bulk repre- sented by the various articles to go into them; the task of sorting entailed. All this had to be done, and was done. The American Defense Society, fellow-workers in the cam- paign, procured the free use of two floors of a loft building at 30 West 3oth Street. Everyone helped. Members of this Society (which generously donated the strong wooden packing- cases and paid for hauling them to the pier), Boy Scouts, employees of THe Lesite-Jui Company, a blucjacket or two, and several ladies who, while belonging to no organiza- tion, were interested in the work—all these did their share. Into each kit they packed the following articles, all of standard quality: The bores were gared os end of the long table an: down to the other end, each ‘son putting in a single article. More than 300,000 articles were handled without confusion. Tying the completed kits before pack- ing them into the large wooden boxes. Juoces | CHRISTMAS | TRENCH FUND PACKING COMFORT KITS Folding the cartons. Shaping these up out of flat pieces of paste- board and fitting the flaps correctly was a large task in itself. 1 package tobacco, with cigarette an talcum powder; 1 pack- 1 package licorice gum; 1 tube tooth paste; papers; 1 package rettes; 1 age mints; 1 package lime tablets 1 package pepsin gum; 1 pencil; 6 shcets stationery, with en- s; 1 small pincushion; 1 French-German phrase book; playing cards (or, in some kits, an extra package of to- bacco); Reply card addressed to donor; donor’s personal card (if donor sent one). Along with these regular kits were forwarded thirty khaki bags which were sent to us already packed with useful articles; and likewise a box of cigars that arrived postmarked Havana. After being filled, closed and tied, the pasteboard kits were stowed into large wooden boxes (seventy-three in all) and hauled to a Government pier, where they were accepted by the Quartermaster’s Department for transportation to France and delivery to the boys in the trenches. JUDGE Janua Juc of bie T array tion h cheer A rev page. semb! Sa Th Ne Of Be Fo nothi “A | her h | win t make