On this day in 1918
Saturday, Oct. 5, 1918. An effigy of Kaiser Wilhelm II, ruler of the German enemy, is being towed down River Street one foot at a time for every $50 worth of Liberty Bonds sold in Troy. Liberty Loan organizers in Troy believe that the Collar City will get halfway toward its goal of $7,335,000 in Bond sales by the end of today. “This is regarded as an excellent showing,” The Record reports, “and with the many features planned for the coming two weeks it is regarded as certain that the city will shortly be sending forth one of its woman residents to christen that ship to be named after the city because of an oversubscription.” To inspire further bond sales, “Kaiser Bill” begins his journey in front of the Ide collar factory at River and Hoosick streets. “To show how anxious the city is to get rid of her unwelcome guest, the effigy was given a good start down the street,” our reporter writes. It winds up a short distance below Hutton Street before it’s brought in for the night. The Kaiser’s ultimate destination is the river itself, which will receive him under the Congress Street bridge once Trojans buy enough bonds. The U.S. is financing the war against Germany partly through the sale of Liberty Bonds that can be redeemed with interest after the war is over. In other parts of the state, bond rallies have been cancelled due to the Spanish flu epidemic, but in Watervliet more than 6,000 people gather at the arsenal to celebrate the opening of a new three-story gunshop.
The third floor of the new building hosts hundreds of dancers, “many of them in pretty gowns, and a generous scattering of men in khaki and navy blue,” the Sunday Budget reports.
Former governor Martin H. Glynn is the featured speaker. “No Arsenal in the United States can beat the Watervliet Arsenal in getting together to best the Kaiser,” he says, “It will help to bury the Kaiser so deep that Gabriel’s trumpet cannot rouse him.” Influenza Hurts Despite some early confusion over federal regulations covering colleges mobilized for military service, RPI has fielded a football team this fall. The problem now is finding competition as the region struggles with the flu epidemic.
The Cherry and White had been scheduled to visit Williams College, but authorities in Williamstown have banned all public gatherings due to the flu. After efforts to bring Middlebury to Troy prove fruitless, coach Jack Reed contents himself with staging a scrimmage between his varsity and the scrubs. Predictably, the varsity wins, 51- 0.
—Kevin Gilbert