Life, 1913-06-12 · page 11 of 44
Life — June 12, 1913 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical story mocks the women's suffrage movement by portraying suffragettes as a threatening "Ghost" or specter haunting military leaders. The General and his men, depicted in battle array, must confront this phantom enemy—the "Obstruction to Woman's Progress," as they label it. The satire works by treating women's demand for voting rights as a militaristic threat requiring combat. The General dismisses the suffragettes as not a "real" enemy, yet they're portrayed as fearsome and inescapable. The story's punchline—that soldiers need only deny the "fake" battle to end it—suggests suffragettes are delusional or that their cause is illusory rather than legitimate. This represents anti-suffrage sentiment, ridiculing activists rather than engaging their arguments.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“In battle array” Votes for the Ladies A Ghost Story HE forces of the American Suffrage Army were drawn up in battle array. Every recruit eager for action. The General was about to give the order to fire when a dainty little Lieutenant, with a baby’s bib peeping from her pocket, stepped up. “Who is the enemy?” she said, apologetically touching her cap. “I think we should have an enemy to shoot at. Don't you Mrs. Smith?—er—I mean General.” “Enemy?” growled the General. “ Just shoot. Shoot anything—everything. But if you must have something to fight, why fight man. He's our enemy.” “But he will not fight,” argued the Lieutenant, again touching her cap and, with the same movement, brushing back a stubborn curl. “I challenged him this morning to battle and his reply was, ‘All right, dearie; go ahead and storm our stronghold and capture us. It will be short work if they are all like you. But for heaven's sake be home in time for dinner. It’s mighty gloomy eating alone.” “Huh,” frowned the General. an enemy. We want a struggle. —that something, the “That's no kind of I have it. We will enemy of Woman's “But what will we shoot at? I want to shoot and go home. You know Mrs. Smith—I mean General—I'm a mother and—' “O bosh!" interrupted the General. “ We will shoot at that which we feel is opposing us. Of course the men will not understand this, but they never did understand us any- way. Ah! Here is our enemy now They all turned and started back as a terrible and savage looking Ghost floated toward them. It was the old familiar Ghost, who for generations has served the World as an imaginary foe. The same Spook who acts as Devil to the orthodox Christian, M. A. M. to a more recent religious sect, number thirteen to the super- stitious, insult to the over-sensitive and jealousy to the distrustful. He is just as formidable an enemy as you make him. If you are looking for trouble, he will worry you day and night with a splendid imitation of real perse- cution, but if you weary of this “fake” battle, you only need to say, “Oh, shucks! What’s the use of fussing about these things,” and the war is ended. The Suffragettes armed the Old with a battle axe and a shield. Then they labeled him “ The Obstruc- tion to Woman's Progress.” What woman wouldn't get comicbooks.com