Judge, 1918-03-23 · page 32 of 32
Judge — March 23, 1918 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a **World War I propaganda advertisement** masquerading as editorial content. The illustration shows a crowd of civilians with Liberty Loan bonds marching toward victory, an American flag flying. The text employs **guilt-based persuasion**: it contrasts the supposed minor "inconveniences" of American civilians at home with the grueling conditions faced by soldiers in France's trenches—mud, mold, cold, hunger, and constant artillery bombardment with "a million chances of death." The message is explicitly manipulative: civilians' personal sacrifices are "too small, too petty" by comparison, so they should feel obligated to purchase **Third Liberty Loan bonds** to maximum capacity. The final tagline—"A Prudential Policy is an Ally that Never Breaks Faith"—attempts to associate the insurance company with patriotic duty, conflating financial investment with national loyalty. This represents typical **WWI-era American propaganda**, using emotional appeals and shaming tactics to pressure public financial support 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.
O your own little inconveniences loom so large that you have forgotten our boys in the trenches in France—our boys who are facing so cheerily the danger and desolation of No Man's Land? They are living in mud-trampled trenches, sleeping in mouldy straw. They are cold and wet. In spite of the best supply system, they must sometimes go hungry. Day in and day out they move and eat and sleep and wake to the living hell of an artillery bombardment that never ceases. And always they face undauntedly a million chances of death. How do your sacrifices compare with theirs? Are they not too small, too petty, by comparison to merit such consideration? We at home are at war too. We must all make sacrifices, meet daily inconveniences, that America may win and win quickly. We know that our soldiers in France will never fail to answer the call to service. Are we any less ready? The call has sounded. Your share in the Third Liberty Loan must be all the bonds you can buy. Upon the united support of the whole American people hangs the question of Victory. “A Prudential Policy is an Ally that Never Breaks Faith.” ™ Prudential Insurance Companp of America Incorporated under the laves of the State of Nee Jersey FORREST F. DRYDEN, President Home Office: NEWARK N. J. comicbooks,com