Just another little snippet to add, which might be of interest:
Joseph Joffre was Commander in Chief of the French Army 1914-1916, but was replaced in late 1916. On 26 December 1916 it was announced in the press that Joffre - who was very popular and affectionately known as Papa Joffre) was to be made Marshall of France.
The certificate implies that the donation would be put towards the repayment of the national debt and in view of Joffre's popularity, it was probably a master-stroke to use him in the campaign to extract money from the citizens of France!
