Life, 1900-05-03 · page 9 of 20
Life — May 3, 1900 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Lucky Filipinos" - Political Cartoon Analysis This is a satirical piece about American conduct during the Philippine-American War (early 1900s). The cartoon depicts destruction in the Philippines—burned villages, dead bodies, and an American flag—while a demonic or skeletal figure looms overhead, representing death and violence. The accompanying text sarcastically claims Filipinos are "lucky" despite American military actions causing widespread casualties and destruction. It addresses Filipino loss of confidence in Americans, noting Manila now has saloons (implying moral corruption), and defends American soldiers against accusations of insulting native women. The satire critiques American imperialism and the human cost of the war while ironically framing American occupation as "progress." It reflects anti-imperialist sentiment within American media itself.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
a, otf Say T -gPANCLED BANNER, Ont Long may ITY attend OFTAE FALE AND Tue Home OF to I) oe Cae Lucky Filipinos. T appears that the Filipinos have lost confidence in Americans, Do those benighted wretcbes fail to realize what we have accomplished in their islands ? We may have burnt certain villages, destroyed considerable property and in- cidentally slaughtered a few thousand of their sons and brothers, husbands and fathers, etc,, but what did they expect ? Were we to transport an army more than half way around the earth merely to listen to peace propositions ? Not much And look at Manila. Two years ago the mala strect of Manila did not possess a single saloon. Now there are thirteco on this one street! And they complain that drunkeo American soldiers insult the native women, What do they expect from a drunken soldier, anyway ? Progress is now in those islands. She may be red-handed, and at times drunk, but she is there for business.