Life, 1915-12-30 · page 35 of 41
Life — December 30, 1915 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains **political satire and a tobacco advertisement**. The left column satirizes American pacifism and naïveté. "Mr. Gotsbiffer" (a caricatured figure, likely representing pacifist sentiment) advocates surrendering to invasion without military defense, claiming it's cheaper. Life mocks this position as foolish appeasement. The "Society for Political Ignorance" section extends the satire—its membership requirements parody citizens' actual ignorance of government, civics, and finance. The joke: the society would be so large that patriotic pride alone might justify membership despite consequences. The small cartoon above lampoons selective charity: a man won't donate a ten-cent piece to foreign missions, perhaps because the coin itself is too valuable or because he's selfish. The **right side is a Velvet Tobacco advertisement** disguised as editorial content—common in early 20th-century magazines. It uses poetic, folksy language and a weathered man's portrait to market pipe tobacco as providing comfort and peace. The page demonstrates Life's dual function: satirical social criticism alongside paid advertising.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WHY A CERTAIN TEN-CENT PIECE DIDN'T GET INTO THE FOREIGN MISSIONS BOX Life’s Spy Reports for Duty (Continued from page 1290) going over the plans for the invasion of New York. Mr. Gotsbiffer says that if we give in peacefully, not a building or church will be destroyed. He has conclusive evidence to show that, in the long run, this will be much cheaper for us than if we go to the expense of building an army and navy adequate to protect us. “What you need,” said Mr. Gots- biffer, “is faith in God. We'll do the To-morrow Mr. Gotsbiffer will go to Washington to attend a special meet- ing of the Cabinet in his honor, to as- certain what new insults, hitherto over- looked, will be acceptable to the Amer- ican people. & PUL THE Society for Political Ignorance met once more yesterday after- noon. One of the leading papers was “What I Don’t Know About Any Con- stitution,” and was received with great applause. The requirements for admis- sion were revised to read as follows To be a member you must be in en- tire ignorance of : The names of your local assembly- men, The names of all State governors All local ordinances. Your mayor and congressman. All finances. The names of all cabinet officers and senators. ¥ Considerable objection was made to these requirements on the ground that they would make so many people eli- gible for membership that the society would be too large. It was, however, pointed out that as a matter of patri- tic pride every citizen ought to be- long, regardless of consequences. Happy New Year to you, neighbor, It’s leap year, once ag’in— Three sixty-five an’ one day mo’ To smoke good VELVET in! May the wrinkles '16 brings you Be the sort smiles leave behind, An’ the only clouds above you Be the fragrant VELVET kind. RE YOU one of the lucky brotherhood that has smiled allegiance to the aged-mellowed tobacco called VELVET? Is your pipe a sure defence against dull care or are you still a restless searcher for the tobacco whose mildness is equalled only by its fragrance and its flavor? Remember VELVET isn’t a name only. It is a description of the aged-in-the-wood smoothness that the choicest of mild Kentucky Burley tobacco gets from two years’ mellowing. Liggette Myers Tabacco Cx 10c Tins One Pound Glass Sc Metal-lined Bags Humidors ea comicbooks.com