Life, 1914-10-01 · page 16 of 48
Life — October 1, 1914 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"The Silent Partner" (top image):** This appears to be a film still or dramatic scene, likely unrelated to the text below. **"Historical Fragment" (main text):** This is biting satire about World War I. The text sarcastically "praises" how German military officers taught the Ottoman Turks (who joined the Central Powers in 1914) to wage "proper Christian warfare"—meaning the destruction of civilian populations and cultural artifacts. The satire inverts moral values: it mocks Western powers' claims to civilization while describing their own atrocities as "scientific methods." The passage culminates in mocking the Nobel Peace Prize committee for removing Kaiser Wilhelm's name from peace prize nominations despite his destructive conduct. **"Popular Problem" (lower right cartoon):** A lighter, domestic satire showing a manager convincing an employee ("Miss Ballet") to stay in her low-paying job rather than quit, using the logic that financial hardship (fresh pastures) will keep her desperate and compliant (fat calves)—critiquing exploitative labor practices during wartime.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE SILENT PARTNER oe te aes Historical Fragment URKEY having at last, and with its usual tardiness, entered into the war, it became a matter of the utmost importance to teach those benighted barbarians, the Turks, the true and inviolable principles of Christian warfare. For example, it was discovered that when they captured a town belonging to the enemy and sacked it, they were likely to be so careless as to leave many buildings standing, and it was noticed that their treatment of women and chil- dren was, compared with our modern scientific methods, extremely primitive, as they permitted many of them to escape. Directed by our non-commissioned Teutonic army officers, however, they soon became so expert that, even if they had been fighting under a Divine Right ruler, they couldn't possibly have destroyed any more works of art or killed and ruined any more innocent people. And so... VEN in deepest war times the Nobel prize people have to have their little joke. News has come from Stockholm that the name of Kaiser William has been stricken from the list of nominations for the next peace prize, JOPULAR PROBLEM—How to live a cash-paying life on an installment income. Miss Ballet: Manager: I'M CONA Quit! GOOD IDEA; FRESH PASTURES MAKE FAT CALVES! comichooks.