Life, 1916-02-10 · page 17 of 44
Life — February 10, 1916 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains multiple satirical pieces from WWI-era America, likely 1914-1917: **"The Silent Birds"** mocks American loss of patriotic confidence—the eagle and "Yankee Doodle" (national symbols) have gone quiet instead of proudly vocal, leaving Americans confused about national purpose. **"Modern Versions"** sarcastically inverts old proverbs to mock contemporary military-preparedness rhetoric, suggesting paranoid over-preparation and contradictory defensive logic had become cultural obsessions. **"The Higher Restitution"** ironically praises Standard Oil Company's Belgian relief efforts as divine providence, while acknowledging John D. Rockefeller's notorious reputation for ruthless monopolistic practices. The satire: God apparently works through morally corrupt industrialists. **"Hang On, Please, Kaiser!"** darkly jokes that Americans want Kaiser Wilhelm II to survive the war to face justice, rather than die conveniently. It mocks wishful thinking about war's conclusion. The page reflects American anxieties about war, preparedness debates, and wartime morality circa 1914-1918.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
{ T IT DREADFUL! THIS IS THE THIRD TIME I HAVE WORN THE SAME NING GOWN.” “ NEVER MIND, MY DEAR; REMEMBER THAT IT 1S JUST THAT SORT OF SELF- DENIAL THAT DEVELOPS ONE'S CHARACTER.” Hallucination Is there such a thing as collective hallucination ?—Springfield Republican. "THERE is, but it is rarely, if ever, called by that name. When an hallucina- tion is the property of only one individual, that person is regarded either as a crank or a lunatic, according to the horse-power of the hallucination. But when an hallucination is owned by a number of people, it is then termed a cult. 245 The Silent Birds HE Eagle used to scream a bit, Perhaps, at times, too proudly; The Yankee Doodle used to crow, And, often, rather loudly; But now the Yankee birds are dumb, Or cheep, in idle chatter, And every man in Yankeeland Is asking: “ What's the matter?” Modern Versions BETTER be prepared than sorry. An ounce of preparedness is worth a pound of muddling through. Never count your dreadnaughts be- fore they are built. Eternal preparedness is the price of liberty. Pacifists who live in unfortified cities shouldn't stir up dissension. There is no use passing a prepared- ness appropriation after the country has been invaded. It’s a wise country that knows its own defenselessness. Never put off till to-morrow the pre- paredness we should be making to-day. The Higher Restitution HAT a dramatic conception of Providence that stricken Belgium should be succored through the Stand- ard Oil Company. Those who were bitter against Mr. John D. Rockefeller for his secret system of rebates with the Pennsylvania Railroad Company, and for the other (alleged) reprehen- sible manners in which his considerable fortune was pumped out of the people, were blind to the ultimate end. The great work of saving an innocent na- tion in time of supreme disaster has been given to this malevolent instru- ment. God moves in a mysterious way his wonders to perform. Hang On, Please, Kaiser! It would be most unfortunate if the Kaiser should not live to sce fought to a conclusion the war in which he is the one figure of real consequence.—The Courier-Journal, 'T would indeed. We should all be disappointed. We much prefer that the Kaiser should live to get his, what- ever it may be.