Life, 1915-02-11 · page 14 of 44
Life — February 11, 1915 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This piece presents a darkly satirical diary of a young boy enlisted as a soldier, chronicling his week from Monday through Friday. The humor derives from the contrast between the army's mistreatment of this child—washing him, dressing him in ill-fitting uniforms, and giving him an obsolete 1865 rifle—and the mother's anxious concerns about his safety and hardship. The three illustrated figures at bottom labeled "Father," "Mother," and "Daughter" appear to represent the family structure being disrupted. The cartoon critiques child recruitment into the military, suggesting the boy will not survive ("R.I.P." = Rest in Peace). The satire targets both institutional indifference to the child's welfare and parental powerlessness against military conscription, reflecting period debates about military expansion and child labor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
BR dP. ONDAY: Our army got up this morning, washed its face and hands and was taken out by its nurse for an airing. One lady even spoke to it pleasantly, saying, “ You are such a nice-appearing little fellow. I am sure you will amount to something when you grow up.” Tuespay: To-day our army was taken out and fitted to a brand-new khaki suit. It was delighted with this and clapped its little hands and laughed. Then it said, as it shouldered its gun, presented to it in the year 1865, or possibly 66: “Oh, nurse, now may I have some real bullets?” But the nurse shook her finger at our army and cried: “You mustn’t think of such a thing, little one. Perhaps in two or three years from now, when Mother Congress begins to wake up from her nap, she will give you a couple of real bullets and a package of nitro-glycerine to play with; but—not now, not now.” Wepnespay: Our army was taken into Mother Congress to-day, and Mother Congress took the little fellow on her knee and patted it on the head and then sighed: “Oh, dear, if I could only keep him always just as little as he is now. I cannot bear to think of him as growing up. Dear little chap! You must be so careful not to run outdoors in the cold, and when you see any bad boys in the distance, don’t waste a minute, but run The Boy That Went Through the Ice: GEE, FELLOWS, THAT’S GREAT! NOW TURN : right in the house to me. I'll shake my fists at ‘em, and make ‘em feel ashamed of themselves for scaring such a dear little fellow as you! Now, , you mind, won't you?” Tuurspay: Our army was indis- posed to-day and had to have the doctor and a trained nurse and couldn't THE BOSS ME OVER take its daily drill, and the doctor said he was afraid it was due to eating some embalmed beef. Mother Con- gress was quite alarmed and actually stopped her knitting and said: “Dear me, whatever shall I do if I lose that boy?” But our army—who is really a brave little chap—only smiled and said: “Now, mother, you really mustn't fret about me, cuz some day I'll be a big man and be such a com- fort to you in your old age.” But Mother Congress only talked to her- self—which the nice old lady does most of the time—and rocked and moaned and said: “He shan'’t grow up if I can help it And then, not being able to stand her anxiety any more, she went out to a department store and bought a lot of new departments and spent a couple of billions more in little things she didn’t really need, but wanted, just to relieve her mind. And when she got home that night and saw the little pale face so thin and sickly, she moaned and moaned and talked herself off to sleep at last. Fray: Our army was worse to-