University of Virginia Library

Third War Loan

On September 9, 1943, the nation's Third War Loan Drive
started. Beginning with this drive, all bond selling activities were
placed under the Albemarle County-Charlottesville War Finance
Committee, an agency of the U. S. Treasury Department which
succeeded all previous agencies. Charlottesville and Albemarle
County had a quota of $2,877,700, over $1,500,000 more than
the quota for the previous drive. Seeking to curb inflation by getting
individuals to invest as much as possible of the “easy” money
which was coming into their hands, the Federal government placed
great emphasis on the sale of E bonds. The local E bond quota for
September and October was $701,000 and was a part of the larger
quota for the drive. In this drive William S. Hildreth, permanent
chairman, was ably assisted by C. T. O'Neill, Vice-President of the
National Bank and Trust Company, who served as county chairman,
and by Harry Frazier, Jr., Vice-President of the Peoples National
Bank, who was in charge of special subscriptions.[16]

Because “this is the cradle of liberty” and because of Albemarle's
“wonderful war bond record,” Secretary of the Treasury Henry
Morgenthau, Jr., chose Charlottesville as the place from which to
make his first report on the bond drive to the nation. At the “Freedom
Sing” held at the Rotunda of the University of Virginia on
Sunday afternoon, September 12, Morgenthau told a crowd of over
3,000 people that “Jefferson's abiding faith informs and inspires
the new generation of Americans on the battlefronts thousands of
miles away. The noblest appreciation we can pay him is to understand
that we must carry Jefferson's good, valiant fight on and on.”
After reporting that over two billion dollars had been subscribed in
the first three days of the drive, Morgenthau cited the example of
the 540 employees of Frank Ix and Sons, Inc., of Charlottesville,
who had pledged a week's pay to the purchase of war bonds over
and above those purchased by payroll deductions. “If everybody
does as well, I can assure you this bond drive will be a great success,”
he said.

The principal address at the “Freedom Sing” was delivered by
Judge Armistead M. Dobie. Harry Rogers Pratt arranged the
musical program and led the singing. A Negro chorus of more than
one hundred voices, under the direction of L. Augustus Page, sang
several spirituals, and the University of Virginia Band, directed by
James E. Berdahl, played several stirring numbers.

In the evening Secretary Morgenthau presided as master of ceremonies
on the “We, the People” radio broadcast which originated
from Jefferson's study at Monticello. A crowd of nearly 500, seated
on the lawn in front of the east portico of Jefferson's home, listened
to the nationwide appeal to buy bonds and heard various persons
introduced by Morgenthau. Among these were Brigadier General
Cornelius Wickersham, head of the School of Military Government
at the University of Virginia; Mrs. Lucian K. Truscott, Jr., wife of
Major General Truscott; Mrs. Demas T. Craw, widow of the late
Colonel “Nick” Craw, who had been the first American to die in
the invasion of North Africa; Lieutenant Landon L. Davis, Jr., back
from a year's service aboard a submarine in the Pacific; Mrs. Henry
Harlow, mother of three sons in the air forces; Mrs. Betty King,
local factory worker, who had three brothers and a husband in the
service; and Willis Henderson, Negro employee at Monticello, whose
family had lived at Monticello since Jefferson's time. Ernie Pyle,
beloved war correspondent, who had witnessed the Sicily invasion,
told of seeing the use of war materials bought by money invested
in war bonds. “I've known enemy artillery that had to retreat
because it ran out of ammunition,” he said, “but in Sicily we had
such immense stores of ammunition that there was never fear at
any time about our having enough to overwhelm the enemy. That's
what war bonds can do.”[17]

Realizing that Secretary Morgenthau's visit had brought responsibility
as well as honor with it, Charlottesville and Albemarle began
buying bonds in earnest, and by September 21 the half-way
mark had been reached. An uphill battle remained, however. E
bond sales lagged badly. The “Retailers for Victory” committee
of the Chamber of Commerce, in cooperation with the Retail Merchants
Association and the local War Finance Committee, planned
a Saturday Night War Bond Rally for the benefit of those who
were unable to make their purchases in the daytime. On September
25 East Third Street between Main and Water was the scene
of this special program. The Lane High School Band, directed by
Sharon Hoose, furnished the music, and J. Lawson Stott was master
of ceremonies. There were seven booths on the street in charge
of young ladies who took orders for bonds, and all three downtown
banks were open from 7:15 to 9:30 P. M. to issue E bonds. The

success of the evening is measured by the $14,437.50 worth of
war bonds sold.[18]

On October 1 the local quota was topped. The Commonwealth
of Virginia had invested $11,500,000 in war bonds and credited
to each locality a proportional part. Charlottesville and Albemarle
were thereby given a boost of $318,550, enough to put them over
the top. On October 1 local sales and credits for the Third War
Loan totaled $3,009,427. Later this figure was increased to
$3,119,290.[19]