Life, 1915-12-23 · page 8 of 40
Life — December 23, 1915 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"Undivided Attention" Cartoon:** This sketch depicts five women in military-style uniforms or formal dress, with one prominently featured holding what appears to be a rifle. The illustration supports the article "To Strengthen Our Voice," which argues for U.S. military preparedness and increased defense spending. The women represent female civic participation or potential military support during a period of international tension (likely pre-WWI or interwar era, given the context about President Wilson). **Main Article:** The editorial opposes pacifist arguments by figures named (Henry Ford, William Bryan, Helen Keller, Jane Addams, and others) who opposed war. It argues that military strength is necessary for maintaining peace and America's international voice, asserting that modern society has exceeded traditional limits of tolerance, making armed capability essential.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1228 Imagination T was at Christmas-tide we met, (Ah, I remember well our meeting) And she, though she was mama’s pet, Was also what you'd call a sweeting. We danced together twice or thrice; I found my dancing did not bore her ; I knew she thought me rather nice, And I was plainly her adorer. In the soft radiance of her smile There was a sort of golden glory; We in a corner talked awhile, Then sought the dim conservatory. “TI see no mistletoe,” I said, Within my eyes rapt adoration; She murmured, as she raised her head, “Pray, where is your imagination?” Clinton Scollard. To Strengthen Our Voice 'HE London Nation speaks truth when it says, in commenting on President Wilson’s call for military preparation, that we don’t need all this proposed armament for mere defens:, and that the real issue is “whether the United States shall keep their place as a world power, with a world policy, unaggressive indeed, but sharply defined against possible claims by other powers, or whether they shall live their life self-contained within their own half continent.” We are behindhand in mere defenses. We should have a “ UNDIVIDED ATTENTION” Jimmie Meadowmouse: cre! MONEY TO BUY A BOB-SLED WHEN THOSE BEAVER BOYS COME ALONG AND BEAT ME OUT COASTING ON THEIR TAILS. I DON’T SEE ANY USE IN SAVING UP steady supply of trained men for that, and, for good rea- sons, we need some increase of the regular army and of the navy. But a good part of the military and naval preparation that is now afoot is to give strength to the voice of the United States in international discussions. We cannot do our share to keep the peace of the world unless we have some tools in our tool-house. If it is the inten- tion of the people of the United States that their repre- sentatives shall no longer speak in meeting, we can get off pretty cheap in military expenditures. But if we are to have opinions and assert them, to defend our views and the rights of others, we need a fair supply of the instru- mentalities now in use to back language. When Peace Comes T seems to Gerald Stanley Lee “that the prospect of peace has never been so bright in the history of man as it is to-day.” Not so much, however, because Henry Ford, Wm. Bryan, Helen Keller and Jane Addams are opposed to war, as be- cause Von Tirpitz, Bernhardi and Houston Chamberlain are for it—because everybody is getting the notion that modern improvements have carried war beyond the limit of toleration. Peace won't come till the war is over, but when it does come—Gerald thinks—it will settle right down on the world.