Life, 1915-09-09 · page 16 of 44
Life — September 9, 1915 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"The Germans"**: This essay critiques German society under Kaiser Wilhelm II, arguing Germans are industrially advanced but politically backward—comparing them unfavorably to Mexicans under Díaz. The satire suggests autocracy can develop military/industrial capacity without fostering self-governance. The cartoon "Excess Baggage" shows the Goddess Minerva (wisdom) struggling with oversized baggage, likely representing Germany's militarism as cumbersome excess. **"The Great Moment"**: A satirical dialogue mocking military incompetence and bureaucratic absurdity. A newly appointed military commander casually asks his aide whether everything is ready—experts meeting, inventors fed, press statements issued—before cheerfully telling the approaching enemy "we are ready to take what's coming to us." The joke targets military ineffectuality and resignation to defeat. **"Golf and Insanity"**: A humorous piece claiming golf cures insanity, then humorously noting golfers themselves seem insane, creating a self-referential joke about the sport's addictive nature. The page reflects pre-WWI anxieties about German militarism and wartime concerns about military preparedness.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LEPC, * The Germans should think of the Germans as a progressive people who have got along wonderfully in material attain- but not very far yet in civilization. With progress ation ordinarily comes abatement in force, duc partly to a liking for ease and partly to the development of scruples. The German force as yet is unabated. People advanced in civilization cannot be handled as the Germans have been handled. A good many of the Germans were serfs no more than a century ago, whereas none of the English have been serfs for four or five centuries. Autocracy may fetch people along until they become fit for self-government, or it may develop a country on its material side and make its people formidable in war and productive in industry without developing their political capacity. The Germans have been industrially developed. As workers they can beat the Mexicans hollow, but it is still to be disclosed how much they surpass the Mexicans in capacity for self-government. The Mexicans kept order and got along as long as they had Diaz. The Germans still have Wilhelm IL. EXCESS BAGGAGE Golf and Insanity Gore is a cure for insanity, ac- cording to the superintendent of the institution for the insane at Elgin, Illinois. He says that batting the ball around diverts the minds of sufferers from dementia, and so he has con- verted a seventy-five-acre pasture into a nine-hole golf course. Of course, many people who have come into contact with some of the more advanced type of golf fiends and heard their ravings about real and i: aN, 5 NY, ROSEN The Great Moment TH man who had at last been ap- pointed by a hopeful Republic as Chief of Staff and Grand Commander of the Army and Navy, called in his aide and said: “Has the Board of Experts met and come to its daily disagreement?” “Yes, Excellency.” “Have the one thousand amateur in- ventors who presented themselves this morning, cach with a new invention which will revolutionize war, been properly received and fed?” “Yes, Excellency.” “Has my weckly statement to the press and people of the country, in ich T explain that while a few minor sters may be expected, everything will be all right by and by, been is- sued?” “Yes, Excellency. “Is my motor car in readiness?” “Yes, Excellency.” “Then you might send word to the approaching enemy that, in accordance with the glorious traditions of our be- loved land, we are ready to take what's coming to us.” imaginary shots will immediately say that this is merely substituting one form of insanity for another. That may be true, but, on the other hand, golfomania is quite harmless, and therefore the substitution constitutes a distinct step in advance. THE EVOLUTION OF THE DOVE comicbooks.com