1943.09.12 “Buy a Bond and Hit the Bull’s Eye” By Al Ross

1943.09.12 “Buy a Bond and Hit the Bull’s Eye”
By Al (Abraham Roth) Ross (1911-2012)
9 x 10 in., ink and wash on board

One of a family of four cartoonists bothers (Ben Roth, Salo, and Irving Roir), trained at the Art Students League of NY, served on the Committee of War Cartoons, formed by the Society of Magazine Cartoonists and the Office of War Information. Contributed to the Saturday Evening Post, Look, Saturday Review, Collier’s, and The New Yorker (from 1937).

The US did not have an overwhelming presence in the European war until they joined the British for the defeat of Rommel’s forces in North Africa in early 1943. The invasion of Sicily, in July, launched from Africa, the marks the start of the hard-core US efforts on the continent.

This cartoon comes from the third bond drive, which ran from September 9 to October 1, 1943, and was the first to specifically target the build-up in Europe.

Addressing the nation during one of his fireside chats, President Franklin Roosevelt called Americans to “contribute your share and more than your share.” The President continued, “It is not sufficient to simply put into War Bonds money which we would normally save. We must put into War Bonds money which we would not normally save. Only then have we done everything that good conscience demands.”

From the kick-off address, on September 8, he said:

“Today, it is announced that an armistice with Italy has been concluded.

“This was a great victory for the United Nations -- but it was also a great victory for the Italian people. After years of war and suffering and degradation, the Italian people are at last coming to the day of liberation from their real enemies, the Nazis.

“But let us not delude ourselves that this armistice means the end of the war in the Mediterranean. We still have to (must) drive the Germans out of Italy as we have driven them out of Tunisia and Sicily; we must drive them out of France and all other captive countries; and we must strike them on their own soil from all directions.

“Our ultimate objectives in this war continue to be Berlin and Tokyo.”

With a fundraising goal of $15 billion, individual sales of $100 denomination series E bonds would need to double. The public’s effort surpassed the goal outlined by Roosevelt, reaching almost $19 billion (1943 dollars) by the drive’s close.

The bonds matured and represented an investment at a time when unemployment and inflation were problems. It’s interesting to think how this bond strategy does not even ping the radar in 2020. Imagine raising $283 billion (2020 dollars), from the country, in a month, towards the local needs of the coronavirus problem, that would return on the investment later.