Life, 1915-05-20 · page 15 of 44
Life — May 20, 1915 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes American optimism during World War I by presenting a dialogue between a Japanese undertaker (Hon. Nero Futomoto) and a Western correspondent. The humor relies on deliberately broken English and stereotypical caricature to mock both Japanese business culture and American naïveté. The satire's point: While Europe suffers catastrophic warfare, starvation spreads across Belgium and France, and Mexico faces instability, American financiers remain cheerfully detached—even profiting indirectly. The undertaker ironically notes his own business is *depressed* because death has become too common and frequent to be "charming." The cartoon mocks American sentimentality and selective compassion (sending relief to Belgium while ignoring Mexico). The broken English and exaggerated Asian features were typical of early 20th-century American magazine racism, but here serve to highlight Western hypocrisy through an outsider's perspective. The subtitle "Prevalence of Sunshine in Middle of Calamity" underscores the absurdity of American optimism amid global suffering.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Letters of a Japanese School-boy Prevalence of Sunshine in Middle of Calamity To Editor “Life Literary Digest”, prominent printer of vivisection, old maids, theatrical syndicate and other optimism, EAR SIR:— Hon. Nero Futomoto, Japanese undertaker, approach to me of recently with more hopeful expression than is frequent among business men. “Hon. Nero,” thusly I support, “why you appear so diamond when all else contain colors peculiar to pressed mud? Are you not aware? All Europe is scrushed together, While France & Germany enjoy excitement of battle Belgium and Chicago must pay for their amusement by starvation. Wall Street send relief to Belgium, but Belgium are too Scottish to give nourishment to Wall Street. Also ob- serve Mexico. If Hon, Bryan send another peace-message to there all “Why you smile so irritably?” “Youngly man of Jack Barrymore eyebrows make passby barber-shops must be closed, because everybody prefer throat-cut to hair- cut. Why you so smile irritably?” “Because thus,” report Hon. Nero Futomoto with cheeritability peculiar to floral contribution, “Business of undertaking are depressed — more gloomly than all other trades during hardtimliness at present. Why is? Firstly because persons must be econ- omy with food & drunk which make long life from thin stummick. Sec- ondly because so much death in Europe make funerals too common so all per- sons are disgusted to die in year when that deed are too frequent for be charming any more, Consequence of this there are very little embalming & hearsing to be done in this wreck year.” “Why then should you destroy hap- piness by your continuous bright ex- pression?” I ask to know. “So ha!” he narrate. “Io am cheerful by ience which teach us that prosperity are here when it are absent. Time for praise & hope are when things are most gloom, because future are more brighter than any- comicbooks.com