“The Journey of a Ten Dollar Bill”

One of the most intriguing advertisements that ran in the 1918 Victory Loan campaign is

titled “The Journey of a Ten Dollar Bill” and is told from the perspective of the bill. This

particular ten-dollar bill is very patriotic and is doing everything he can to help the boys win the

war. His first job was to pay for a Victory Bond in 1917 and then he travels through many other

businesses which benefited from the initial Victory Bond campaign. He travelled to British

Columbia to pay for lumber used to make British airplanes, which shows how the Victory Loan

helped the British by allowing them to continue using Canadian materials without paying for

them. Then the ten-dollar bill was used to pay an employee for his work, which shows how the

campaign helped Canadian citizens keep their jobs. The employee then gives the ten-dollar bill

to a storekeeper, he owed money which shows how the Victory Loan campaign helped Canadian

merchants. The ten-dollar bill continues his journey, where he is given to a farmer for a cheque

the farmer received for a load of grain. This stop shows how the campaign benefitted Canadian

farmers. This one ten-dollar bill’s journey shows the multitude of ways the Victory Loan

Campaigns helped Canadians survive the war at home.1

1 “The Journey of a Ten Dollar Bill,” Fort William Daily Times Journal, November 7, 1918, page 5.