Found! Wooden Pointer

July 3, 2012

P5598 low resPointing the Way to Victory

This wooden pointer might at first be mistaken for a large clock high hand. That is, until the faint pencil inscription on the back is deciphered which reveals its true purpose. Rather than telling time, it indicated to patriotic Newporters the money raised by the Third Liberty Loan campaign during the First World War.

Liberty Loans, a precursor to savings bonds, were a means developed during World War One to help fund the tremendous costs of the war. This pointer is from the Third Liberty Loan campaign, which kicked off on April 6 of 1918 and ended on Rhode Island Independence Day, May 4, 1918. It was placed prominently above the steps of the Colony House, and like the thermometer graphic of today showed citizens when the campaign had reached $2,000,000 in bond sales. Newport’s efforts, which included a large military parade on April 26, resulted in surpassing its quota by over half a million dollars.

CH Hand

The previous two loan campaigns had received lackluster results. To make up for past failures the Third Liberty Loan unleashed a veritable media blitz. Using posters, stunts, boy scouts, war heroes, celebrities, parades, and even a movie made by Charlie Chaplin, the Third Liberty Loan campaign sought to catch public attention, and money. In Newport, the campaign appealed to the city’s history, recalling the debt America owed to France during the Revolution that could now be repaid with interest. The placement of this pointer on the Colony House steps above where the Declaration of Independence was read for the first time, and where Rochambeau and Washington stood, clearly connected the past with the present.

Two familiar faces at the courthouse, Horatio B. Wood and Robert E. Brooks, jointly donated this memento of Newport’s involvement in the Great War. Their vastly different backgrounds make this joint donation so interesting. Wood was born in Newport and served as a court reporter for over 50 years, while maintaining an avid interest in Newport History. Like Wood, the African American Robert Brooks also served the court for over 50 years, but as its janitor. Brooks was a native of Frederick, Maryland, but a longstanding feature in both the Old Colony House and in the newly constructed courthouse on Washington Square. Brooks and Wood both died in 1940, just after Newport’s tercentenary celebrations, aged 74 and 82 respectively.

Their donations reminds us of the contributions made by civilians during the Great War, but also the diverse population of early 20th century Newport that valued their city’s place in history and its contributions to the present.