Fortnightly periodicals were sent to six
hundred thousand teachers. Two hundred thousand lantern slides were
furnished for illustrated lectures. Fourteen hundred and thirty-eight
different designs were turned out for posters, window cards, newspaper
advertisements, cartoons, seals and buttons. The chambers of commerce,
the churches, fraternal societies, schools, were used as channels of
distribution. Yet Mr. Creel's effort, to which I have not begun to do
justice, did not include Mr. McAdoo's stupendous organization for the
Liberty Loans, nor Mr. Hoover's far reaching propaganda about food,
nor the campaigns of the Red Cross, the Y. M. C. A., Salvation Army,
Knights of Columbus, Jewish Welfare Board, not to mention the
independent work of patriotic societies, like the League to Enforce
Peace, the League of Free Nations Association, the National Security
League, nor the activity of the publicity bureaus of the Allies and of
the submerged nationalities.
Probably this is the largest and the most intensive effort to carry
quickly a fairly uniform set of ideas to all the people of a nation.
The older proselyting worked more slowly, perhaps more surely, but
never so inclusively. Now if it required such extreme measures to
reach everybody in time of crisis, how open are the more normal
channels to men's minds? The Administration was trying, and while the
war continued it very largely succeeded, I believe, in creating
something that might almost be called one public opinion all over
America.
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