The Chicago Daily News War Book For American Soldiers, Sailors, and Marines

“To the Chicago Daily News: 

Any undertaking destined to increase the brotherhood in arms existing between Americans and Frenchmen merits encouragement. Since your book aims to give an idea of the French war organization, I can only congratulate you on thus presenting to your compatriots documentary evidence of facts which are of the greatest interest…by adding their skill in battle to their well proven courage, Frenchmen and Americans will reap new glory and will once more carry to a triumphant conclusion the idealistic principles for which they have at all times freely shed their blood.” – Marshal Joffre, Introduction.

This little ‘war book’, just less than 200 pages, was published by the Chicago Daily News Company in 1918 for distribution, free of charge, to American servicemen (in uniform) who called upon the firm’s main office in Chicago. Subsidized copies were available at overseas branches in London and Paris, while the general public could buy one for twenty-five cents (about $6 today). The Daily News was rightfully proud of its foreign news service, since in the 1890s, it was one of the first American dailies to open a full-time international correspondent’s office. Such contacts and experience were crucial in setting the newspaper apart from rivals like the Chicago Tribune, which would claim the city’s highest daily readership the same year the book was issued.

America’s entry into the Great War in 1917 brought mixed public opinions. Strong isolationist feelings and large populations of pacifists, progressives, and German emigrants tempered enthusiasm for conflict against increasing geopolitical and economic pressures. As a result, the Committee on Public Information was organized by the Wilson administration to influence popular belief in support of the war. This propaganda mandate, led by chairman George Creel, extended into the visual arts, film, and printed communication (especially newspapers). While the Chicago Daily News War Book does not appear to have any direct affiliation with the CPI, it almost certainly received financial support, useful information, or, at a minimum, tacit approval for issue.

These priorities are reflected in the content and organization of the pocket-sized reference volume, which would have been tucked into the kits of thousands of young men as they made ready for war. There is a clear contrast between the information “designed to aid them in the discharge of their duties” (according to the editor, Josephus Daniels), pro-war advocacy, and what might best be described as a travel guide to Paris. Explanatory diagrams for armaments and ordnance are included alongside lists of cafes, restaurants, and theaters. Words for dozens of popular French dishes are given in the accompanying French/English dictionary, with military terminology given a clear backseat. Secretary of War Newton Baker alludes to this ‘multi-purpose’ style in his introductory remark, “I am sure that the little book will be of real value, not only to the men for whom it is directly prepared, but to many others.” 

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