Life, 1916-02-03 · page 19 of 48
Life — February 3, 1916 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate satirical pieces from Life magazine, likely from World War I era (given references to "the dreaded Germans"). **Main Cartoon: "Some Men Require a Lot of Encouragement"** A father lectures his son Harold about patriotic duty and public opinion's role in "saving the country" from an enemy threat. The satire's punch comes when Harold's mother enters and deflates his newfound patriotic fervor by sardonically suggesting the father's real plan is to hide under beds while *she* barricades the door against Germans. The joke mocks men who inspire others to sacrifice while planning personal cowardice—a common WWI-era criticism of those who promoted war enthusiasm without serving themselves. **Side Jokes** Brief quips mock an actress's salary increase in movies versus theater (suggesting she's paid extra for silence), and a regional insult exchange between New York and Boston boys. The satire targets selective patriotism and masculine hypocrisy during wartime.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
and hungry, is waiting for the moment to pounce down upon us and strip us of everything we hold dear—of our palm-rooms, our race-tracks and be- loved baseball fields, of our movies and fordcars and other necessaries. You will see, therefore, the need of great wisdom. Remember that you, young as you are, form a part of the great pub- lic opinion, which, at critical moments, always steps in and saves the country.” At this moment Harold's mother came in, Harold's eyes were suffused with gratitude. SOME MEN REQUIRE A LOT OF ENCOURAGEMENT “Mother,” he exclaimed, “ father has been telling me just what we must do to save our beloved country in case the enemy came.” Harold’s mother was silent for a moment. Then she replied brightly: “T suppose, Harold, that your dear father’s idea of it is that you and he will hide under one of the beds up- stairs while I am busy barricading the front door against the dreaded Ger- mans.” Then there was a long silence. Thomas L, Masson. Valuable “VY/HEN she was an actress on the legitimate she got two hundred a week, and now in the movies she gets five hundred.” “Well, it's worth three hundred a week to keep any woman from talk- ing.” EW YORK BOY: Yer a liar. Boston Youtn: Haven director. You are a New comicbooks.com