courtesy of the new york times
ingenuity of messaging 100 years ago required manufacturing prowess, daring do, and suitable weather conditions
| One hundred years ago today, President Woodrow Wilson outlined his terms for an end to World War I in a speech meant to appeal to the war-weary people of America’s European foes. |
| American newspapers such as The Times printed the 14-point speech in full, but that did not mean the average German would get the message. |
| A few days later, a report in The Times documented efforts to spread the speech behind enemy lines, after Berlin threatened to execute pilots of planes distributing copies. |
| “What is now wanted is some kind of flying craft which will travel fifty to a hundred miles or more, dropping propaganda on the way,” The Daily Chronicle, a British paper, reported. |
| “Here is a chance for ingenious inventors to improve on the existing facilities for invading the enemy countries with moral munitions and scattering broadcast pamphlets, tracts and pictures.” |
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