100 years ago in Spokane: Treasury secretary rallies wartime spirit

A capacity crowd of 6,000 gathered at the Spokane Armory to hear U.S. Secretary of the Treasury William McAdoo deliver a stirring speech about war, patriotism and war bonds.

McAdoo was in charge of raising money for the European war, and one of the most important sources of those funds were war bonds, commonly known as Liberty bonds. The visit was part of a concerted drive to encourage more people to buy Liberty bonds.

On the podium behind McAdoo was a banner which displayed a well-known McAdoo quote: “Shall we be more tender with our dollars than with the lives of our sons?”

McAdoo drew loud applause when he noted that three of his sons were serving in the U.S. Navy. He also said that “every pacificist speech in this country, made at this inopportune and improper time, is in effect traitorous.”

He called the war a fight between autocracy and democracy, and that “one or the other has got to survive.”

If we didn’t fight it out now, he said, we would surely have to fight it out at a later date.

McAdoo outlined how America and the allies would go about winning this war. He said that we would soon have an American army of more than 2 million fighting men. We were creating a “great airplane fleet” at the cost of $700 million. We were building up the navy and merchant fleet – to carry those 2 million soldiers overseas.

He said the airplane fleet would “make the skies go black” for the German kaiser, and he would have to “take to some of the bombproof caves he has constructed at the front.” Then, if we keep our gallant men at the front supplied, “we shall bring this war to a successful conclusion.”

McAdoo’s speech was greeted by repeated ovations.