The first 14,000 American troops arrived in France on June 26, 1917, but most of the American forces arrived the following year. By July 1918 there were one million American soldiers in Europe.
They continued to arrive at the rate of about 10,000 a day until they numbered 1.8 million.
On this date in 1918, the Washburn Leader announced that the newspaper was participating in a program that would provide comfort to the American soldiers at the front – the Soldier Tobacco Fund. The paper urged readers to “do your two bits and send a kit to a soldier boy.” The article reminded readers that soldiers were enduring hardships that were beyond imagining. In urging readers to support every soldier, the newspaper said, “A good smoke is one of the little things he ought not be denied.”
The program would bring a little cheer to the soldiers and remind them that they were not forgotten. For a donation of twenty-five cents, the newspaper would send a smoke kit to a soldier. Each kit contained cigarettes, matches, and a postcard addressed to the person who donated it. The soldier could write a personal note of thanks and send it. The Red Cross agreed to deliver the kits. The French government helped by allowed the tobacco into the country duty-free. The French and British postal departments would handle the one-cent postcards. The American Tobacco Company was supporting the program by sending forty-five cents of tobacco for each donation.
A 1915 British poster shows soldiers smoking outside a damaged church. The poster urges, “Let us make every effort and see that they are never in want of pipes and tobacco.” The American program was inspired by the British. Newspapers across the country supported the program, urging readers to participate. The MountStirling Advocate of Mount Stirling, Kentucky told readers they should “Smoke Out the Kaiser.”
In August 1917 the Times Dispatch of Richmond, Virginia noted that the Soldiers Tobacco Fund was gaining headway. The Washburn Leader noted that, “Scarcely a letter has been received from the boys [that doesn’t] ask for American tobacco.”
Dakota Datebook written by Carole Butcher.
Sources:
Washburn Leader. “The Leader Starts Soldier Tobacco Fund.” Washburn, ND. 29 March 1918. Page 2.
Mount Stirling Advocate. “Smoke Out the Kaiser.” Mount Stirling, KY. 25 September 1917. Page 10.
Times Dispatch. “Soldiers’ Tobacco Fund Gains Much Headway.” Richmond VA. 19 August 1917. Page 13.
The First World War East Sussex. “American Soldiers Arrive in France.” http://www.eastsussexww1.org.uk/american-soldiers-arrive-france/ Accessed 2/8/2018.
Library of Congress. “Sailors and Soldiers Tobacco Fund poster.” https://www.loc.gov/item/2003675365/ Accessed 2/8/2018.
Journal-World. “World War I in Lawrence.” http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2017/nov/05/world-war-i-lawrence-journal-world-starts-tobacco-/ Accessed 2/8/2018.
