Life, 1914-11-12 · page 15 of 48
Life — November 12, 1914 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This wartime satirical page critiques German militarism and Prussian culture through dialogue and cartoons. **"The Germans" dialogue**: Uses Q&A format to argue that Germany's political theory aims at dominating all other peoples—that the war exists because Germany wants territorial/ideological supremacy. The piece claims killing is central to Prussian culture, suggesting Germans would even turn on each other without external enemies. It's anti-German propaganda framed as philosophical critique. **The form letter**: Mocks American business leaders who claim to support the President's policies while actually resisting regulation. The letter sarcastically agrees with "unimportant suggestions" while protecting profits and discipline—satirizing corporate resistance to wartime labor/industry controls. **The cartoons**: "Bear and For Bear" and "What a Lovely Butler That Pouter Would Make!" appear to use animal/servant imagery, likely continuing themes of German aggression and American industrial arrogance. The page reflects WWI-era American attitudes: German militarism as inherently expansionist and dangerous, and domestic corporate resistance to government oversight.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Germans O we admire the Germans? Oh, yes! Certainly we do. Do we admire them as much as the Germans do? Not quite. Is the opposition to the Ger- mans personal? Not at all; it is an opposition to a theory of political life. What is the matter with their theory? There’s not enough of it to go ‘round. How far would it go? Just as far as there were Germans. What would the rest of the peo- ple do? That is what the war is about. Will they find out? They hope not. Will the Germans find out some- thing by means of the war? The other people hope so, For example? That there is still somebody on earth besides Germans. But it is hard to teach them that! Oh, yes; very hard. But they must be taught? Well, there is an alternative. And that is? To kill off all the other people. Could they do that? They can try. They are trying. Would they like it if they suc- ceeded? Probably not. There would still be the Prussians, and with no one else to kill, the Prussians would have to kill the other Germans. Why so? Because killing is their business, Must they practice it? Suppose they didn’t? Fond Mother: LitTLe poy, HAVE YOU SEEN PERCY VIVIAN? “ YESSUM. WANTS you! HEY, BRICKTOP, YER They might lose their “ pep”. And is that so important to them? Yes, it’s all they’ve got. 847 That is hard on the other Germans. Not much harder than this war. It is a Prussian war, then? Nothing else; but all Germany is in it, soul and body, because all Ger- many is completely Prussianized. Form F letter to be addressed to the President of the United States by any combination of capitalists and labor employers who resent his efforts to make them conform to the law: Dear Sir: Your program as out- lined in your letter relative to our industry has been duly received. Thanks. We agree unqualifiedly, unreservedly and uncon- ditionally to all the un- important suggestions which you make and which do not affect our di dends, our discipline and our duty to our own interests. In failing to agree with you in the other suggestions you make, we desire to call at- tention to the fact that, as President, you are naturally depend- ent upon others for your facts, and, inas- much as we have a monopoly of these facts, it stands to rea- son that you naturally have not the same opportunity of judging impartially as we have. MOTHER Yours as ever, = {EMPLOMHENT), || Acency I aseny “WHAT A LOVELY BUTLER THAT POUTER WOULD MAKE!” comicbooks.com