Judge, 1918-06-29 · page 3 of 37
Judge — June 29, 1918 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **World War I propaganda poetry** illustrated by Charles Sarka. The piece appeals to American home-front readers to support the war effort, likely published when the U.S. was considering or had recently entered the conflict (1917-1918). The **top illustration depicts battlefield carnage**—soldiers fallen among devastation. The **bottom illustration shows two figures resting**, possibly representing weary soldiers or home-front citizens. The poem argues that American soldiers fighting in Europe face horrors ("German madness," "shrapnel shrieks") so that civilians at home need not. It shames those remaining passive, urging them to "Rise up and smite the Hun!"—using dehumanizing language for Germans common in WWI propaganda. The message: Americans must actively support the war effort to honor soldiers' sacrifices.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“We Kyow Our Boys Are Ficutinc ror Us— Anp ror THE WorLD” J. A. WALDRON Illustrations by O fields that German mad- ness Has ploughed with shot and shell, Where ruin’s ghastly sadness Suggests the woes of Hell— Where shrapnel shrieks its terrors And poisons reek and stun, Where might persists in errors— The glory of the Hun— Where cruelty is blighting, Its crime-stained flag unfurled, We know our boys are fighting For us—and for the world. The sea that rolls between us Their courage magnifies; Ah! how it would demean us, And how they should despise, If we, who know their dangers, Our lesser burdens shun, To human peril strangers! Rise up and smite the Hun! comicbooks.com