fkUl NEW YORK

REPORT THIRD LIBERTY LOAN COMMITTEE OF BUFFALO
circulars in each bundle sent out by these stores. Large quantities of literature and stickers
were also employed in similar distribution.
The Police Department and the Boy Scouts of America proved efficient aids for distributing
automobile stickers. On the third Saturday of the campaign, under the direction of
Superintendent Girvin, traffic officers stopped every automobile passing on or across Main
Street and the Boy Scouts placed these stickers on machines not bearing the same. In this
manner, ten thousand pieces of Liberty Loan advertising were added to the publicity
campaign.
Mail stickers were distributed to the quantity of nearly three-quarters of a million for
three successive days through the co-operation of the post-office mailing division of the city
of Buffalo. These stickers were placed on the face of every piece of mail delivered in the
city of Buffalo at that time. On the opening day of the campaign, facsimile copies of Mayor
Buck's Liberty Loan proclamation were distributed by aeroplanes.
The Bureau handled over four million articles and because of its excellent management
and the large distribution force which it built up, was able to make publicity features out of
their service by holding back large quantities of interesting and effective advertising and
flooding the city with the same on a given day. This was particularly noticeable in the use
of the automobile stickers, envelope stickers and the Liberty Bell cut-outs.
The remarkable results of the Bureau were accomplished by a faithful and exceedingly
active group of workers, including Michael M. Cohen and Walter P. McCowan, who abandoned
their business for the work and J. Rowland Cloudsley and David F. Harris who spent
their vacations managing the store room. In other instances valuable help was furnished
by Messrs. Adam, Meldrum & Anderson, and Messrs. Oppenheim & Collins, the Buffalo
Bargain House, Walbridge & Company and J. N. Adam & Company whose employees were
of great aid in wrapping and shipping.
The News Bureau was managed by Alfred H. Kirchhofer of the Buffalo
NEWS BUREAU Evening News and practically all of its voluminous copy was from his
hands. On occasions C. T. Mann of the Courier and A. J. Sharrick of
the Enquirer assisted him. Mr. Kirchhofer's task not only included the production of reams
of copy and constant contact with all branches of the organization to keep abreast of the
news, but to him was referred the many pressing requests for publicity that are incident
to the campaign and with rare judgment and tact he distributed personal mention of enterprising
groups and individuals in a just and generally satisfactory manner.
The Bureau operated with three groups of publications; the six English dailies, two German
and two Polish dailies and nine weekly journals, the latter including the only Italian
medium in the city. The Bureau furnished three kinds of stories. The first was straight
news and was supplied to the papers at the outset of the drive and whenever there was an
important event scheduled. Then, after interest had been aroused and stimulated by the
features, as told through the news stories, so-called feature stories, containing odd bits of
information and human interest items, were included. Lastly, educational matter—in other
words, propaganda. As the campaign approached its peak, quantities of all of these stories
were furnished, so that the greater interest and enthusiasm might be reflected in the larger
amount of Liberty Loan reading matter carried in the papers.
In addition to this reading matter, the papers were liberally supplied with news photographs
and cartoons for reproduction. The use of these formed an important link in the
chain of argument that was presented to the people of the city.
Toward the end of the campaign other devices than the straight reading matter were
employed. For example, the papers were asked to print flare lines, over their captions,
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