Life — September 9, 1915 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Explanation for Modern Readers The top cartoon satirizes German military leadership during World War I. German officers (identifiable by their spiked helmets/Pickelhaube) receive another message from "that American president" (Woodrow Wilson), with one officer dismissing it by saying "answer it yourself, Fritz" and "oh, anything"—mocking their contempt for American diplomatic efforts and Wilson's peace initiatives. The page's second section discusses Kate Douglas Wiggin, an American author earning $50,000 annually, questioning how she accumulates wealth from writing. A small cartoon below shows a woman being told not to bathe in "Life" magazine, treating it as a "secluded pool." The cartoons reflect wartime attitudes toward Germany and early 20th-century gender expectations around women's economic success.