The Dust Storm Liberty Loan Drive
While high winds and dust storms battered the valley, Kennewick's volunteer solicitors hit the streets to push the city $10,000 past its wartime bond quota.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The weather man is a slacker and a pro-German propagandist, but despite the fact that for the last two days he has sent a dust storm over the valley, he has not curbed the enthusiasm of the Liberty Loan workers. This evening they are rejoicing over the fact that Kennewick has exceeded its quota of the second loan by ten thousand dollars, and there is yet more to come. When the committee called its workers together Tuesday evening, things looked blue; only $20,000 had been subscribed. Wednesday, a number of business men left their offices, drove their automobiles through blinding clouds of dust out over almost impassable country roads, and by Wednesday evening, the subscription total had grown to $48,500. Today, the high wind and the dust continued, and so did the workers. At the close of banking hours, loan subscriptions amounted to $61,600. Kennewick's minimum quota was $52,672, but the solicitors are determined to bring the total up to $70,000.
“The weather man is a slacker and a pro-German propagandist, but despite the fact that for the last two days he has sent a dust storm over the valley, he has not curbed the enthusiasm of the Liberty Loan workers.”
This story highlights the intense local pressure to support WWI, using the rhetoric of the time to frame financial participation as an act of patriotism. It also serves as a reminder that the Tri-Cities' perennial struggle with high winds and dust is not a new development, but a century-old backdrop to civic life.
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