Life, 1915-04-29 · page 31 of 44
Life — April 29, 1915 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top illustration shows a historical scene captioned "In the Days of Our Forefathers" depicting someone entering with a flying machine—an anachronistic joke about introducing modern technology to the past. The main satirical piece, "Sweet Are the Uses of Adversity," mocks the reconciliation between ideological opponents through warfare. A Socialist and minister initially argue about brotherhood—ironically agreeing on the same principle but nearly fighting over it. War unites them; both kill French soldiers and receive Iron Crosses (German military honors), then shake hands. The satire suggests war artificially creates kinship among those who share nothing else, and that shared violence binds people more effectively than shared ideology. The brief exchanges below ("Two Ways" and the tower dialogue) are mild observational humor: one about methodical failure, another likely playing on class differences regarding historical appreciation. This reflects early 20th-century skepticism about war's supposed unifying benefits and the absurdity of ideological conflict.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
IN THE DAYS OF OUR FOREFATHERS ENTER THE ENTHUSIAST WHO HAS EXPERIMENTED WITH A FLYING MACHINE Sweet Are the Uses of Adversity A SOCIALIST and a minister had a falling out. The Socialist declared that all men should be brothers. The minister insisted that all men should be brothers. Thus they nearly came to blows. Then the war broke out and they both joined the same regiment. In the terrible campaign which followed each of them killed sixteen Frenchmen, and both were decorated with the Iron Cross. And they shook hands cordially and agreed to let bygones be bygones. In the dark soil of adversity does human kinship grow. Two Ways OKUS: Why is he such an utter failure? Does he jump at conclusions? Poxus: No; on the contrary, he seems to be quite methodical about making his mistakes. Mr.: MY DEAR, THIS TOWER GOES BACK TO WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. Mrs.:| WHAT'S THE MATTER? ISN'T 1T SATISPAC- Tory?