Judge, 1918-09-07 · page 2 of 32
Judge — September 7, 1918 — page 2: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This is a **public service advertisement**, not satire or political cartoon. It's a Treasury Department message urging Americans to retain their Liberty Bonds—government securities sold to finance World War I. The ad targets bond owners who might be tempted to sell or trade their bonds. It warns against: - Selling bonds to speculators ("get-rich-quick operators") - Using bonds as collateral for loans - Trading bonds for merchandise The rhetoric emphasizes patriotic duty ("the boys 'Over There'") and financial prudence, framing bond-holding as both a moral obligation to soldiers and sound investment. The eagle seal and government attribution establish official authority. This reflects American homefront mobilization during WWI, when sustained public investment mattered strategically.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ee Keep Your Liberty Bonds OLD to that bond. You invested to help send the boys across. They are, over now, at grips with the German monster. You expect them to hold on—hold on till the last vestige of autocracy is crushed out of him. Then you, too, must hold on—must keep your enlisted dollars invested on the fighting line. \ It isn’t the hooray of a campaign that wins a war. It’s the will to hang on, to make sacrifice today, that tomorrow may bring victory. And your investment. Those bonds are the safest investment you ever made. Don’t be lured into exchanging them for the “sccuritics’ of some suave get-rich-quick operator. Big returns may be promised, but the bigger the promised returns the bigger the risk. If you have to have money, take your bond to any bank and use it as col- lateral for a loan. There is no security the banker would rather have—noth- ing on which he will lend more willingly. Don’t use bonds to buy merchandise. The average merchant, accepting your bonds in trade, sells them immediately, thus tending to lower their market price and taking away from the buyer of your bonds the ability to lend a-corresponding amount of moncy to his Government. Liberty Bonds are meant to help your country at War;.are meant for investment and to provide an incentive for saving anda provision for the rainy day. Hold fast to your Liberty Bonds.” Hold fast for the sake of the boys “Over There”. Hold fast because it is good business. UNITED STATES TREASURY DEPARTMENT Contributed through = oa United States Gov't Committee Division of Advertising 4 on Public Information THE PUBLISHER OF JUDGE comicbooks.com