Life, 1889-07-11 · page 5 of 16
Life — July 11, 1889 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 19 This page satirizes **William III, Emperor of Germany** (Kaiser Wilhelm II). The main portrait shows him in military dress with distinctive upturned mustache. The satire focuses on his political position: William secured his post through nepotism—being related to preceding emperors—rather than merit. Life mocks his devotion to military matters and his filial duty to his mother (the deceased emperor's widow). The accompanying dialogue joke presents William as politically weak, unable to act independently. A father boasts his son is a "champion long-distance runner," but the punchline suggests William cannot make decisions without seeking approval—he's politically constrained despite his imperial title. This reflects American skepticism toward German imperial authority during the early 1900s.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
IN ECSTATIC ECSTACY OF LOVE. © love! be moderate ; allay thy ecstacy; In measure rein thy joy; scant this excess: 1 feel too much thy blessing ; make it less, For fear I surfeit. —Merchant of Venice, Act I11., Scene I. ON ONE CONDITION. Trane (to lady of the house): I'm starving to death! Can I die out in the barn-yard ? LaDy OF THE HOUSE (gracsously) : Y if you won't crawl under the Pater: WELL, MY SON, YOU ARE GRADU- ATED, AND ARE NOW PREPARED TO GO WesT AND FIGHT THE INDIANS, Do You THINK YoU HAVE THE NECESSARY QUALIFICATIONS ? West Pointer; Wett, 1 sHouto THINK 80. I AM THE CHAMPION LONG-DISTANCE RUNNER OF OUR CLASS. }, encountered when he be LIFE’S GALLERY OF BEAUTIES. No. 33. WILLIAM III, EMPEROR OF GERMANY. ILLIAM IIL, secured his present position under the same plan of Civil Service Reform which President Harrison is so successfully establishing in the United States. He happened to be a relation of the two preceding Emperors, and was therefore given the office he now holds, It is said to yield him an excellent salary and gives him a strong pull with the police. William is noted principally for his love of the military and for his filial devotion to his mother—his deceased father’s widow. In recognition of these ruling traits, the im- perial bands have standing orders to play nothing but * J'aime la Militaire” and “ Never Shake Your Mother, Toni" while the Emperor is within hearing, The first obstacle he n to reign was Bismarck ; but William overcame him with rare said, “You're growing old and are becoming a little bit sot in You can look tact. Biz, my boy, your ways, We'll divide the work, and then there won't be any trouble. ) after Samoa and refuse_to admit American hog products into Germany whenever you like. "TIL run the rest of the nop, including the army and my mother.” Of course, Bismarck knew that William’s knowledge of men and affairs was greater than his own, so he acqui- esced. Since then Bismarck has been amusing himself with Secretary Blaine and Commis- sioner Phelps and has not lost his cheerfulness. William IIL. up to the present has successfully kept from distinguishing himself in any way. It is the general ¢pinion that he has added big-head to his inherited deformities, but this is a calumny circulated by a groom whom he beat without mercy when he was only the son of the Crown Prince, From present appearances William III. will continue to be Emperor until he cesses to reign in that capacity. is because it THe reason why the office doesn't seek the man, Freddy, cannot go five hundred different ways at once. comicbooks.com