World War I 100 Years Ago: Sept. 7-13

From The Indianapolis Star, Tuesday, September 10: A number of North Side parents noticed that the cakes of water color paints from the Prang Co of Sandusky, Ohio, specified on the official list of school supplies, were imprinted with “Made in Germany.” Parents refused to allow their children to use the paints and sent them to school today without the required water colors. Ellis U. Graff, Indianapolis school superintendent, declared, “By all means we will insist the “Made in Germany” paints be taken from school supplies and replaced with American goods. I am opposed to anything “Made in Germany” being used in the schools.” Oscar C. Maurer, with local wholesaler Kiefer-Stewart Co who distributed the paints, was of the opinion the water color cakes were from old stock that the Prang Co, an American firm, had imported before the war.