Life, 1916-01-20 · page 16 of 44
Life — January 20, 1916 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes Henry Ford's 1915 "Peace Ship" expedition, which attempted to end World War I. The article mocks William Jennings Bryan (the three-time presidential candidate and prominent pacifist) for canceling his European trip because Ford had returned—suggesting Ford's presence made Bryan's absence unnecessary. The satire's point: Ford's well-intentioned peace mission actually *prevented* more troublemaking by occupying pacifists and demonstrating their inability to agree on anything. By collecting "a wonderful family of them" and shipping them across the Atlantic, Ford inadvertently functioned as a "safety valve" that harmlessly vented their activism without causing real damage. The cartoons illustrate scenes from the peace mission, mocking its ineffectiveness. The satire suggests that pacifists like Bryan were more dangerous when active at home than when neutralized abroad—a cynical commentary on both Ford's idealism and Progressive-era peace movements.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
108 “Pe - Henry Ford's Best Service New York, December 27.—It was learned here to-day that Mr. Bryan had booked passage for himself and Mrs. Bryan on the steamship Rotterdam, sailing to-morrow But to-day he telegraphed that because of Mr. Ford’s return the trip had been indefinitely postponed. —New York Evening Post ER an admirable result of Henry Ford's exertions. Mr. Bryan's invasion of Europe is indefinitely post- poned. That was worth while. Ben Lindsey and Dr. Jor- dan and Madame vimmer might roam as permitted and talk as permitted in Europe and no harm come of it, but Mr, Bryan is a much more important figure, and would “YoU TOUCH HER UP AND I'LL FINISH HER” be much more embarrassing and probably mischievous over there. We may realize presently that Henry Ford's great service has been to let off harmlessly the gathering steam of the impatient pacifists. They were all boiling to do something. He collected a wonderful family of them, sailed them across the Atlantic, and gave them full opportunity to demonstrate that there was nothing they could agree upon, much less do. Think of Henry as a safety valve, or even as a poultice, and he looms up quite handsomely as a sanitary agent. ow? NEED IT IN THE MORNING. I'M ENTERTAINING AN OUT-OF-TOWN CUS7OMER TO-NIGHT WHOSE WIFE IS A PRO- HIBITIONIST,” “London bridge is falling down, my fair lady” comicbooks.com