Life, 1916-02-17 · page 18 of 52
Life — February 17, 1916 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several satirical pieces typical of Life's editorial commentary: **"The Jingo"** (poem): Mocks a bellicose political figure who daily rants about "hyphenates" (immigrants with divided loyalties) and demands extreme punishments, yet proves cowardly when actual action is required—a common WWI-era critique of warmongers who talk tough but avoid real commitment. **"How to Write a Moving Picture Play"**: Parodies absurdly melodramatic silent film plots by presenting an intentionally ridiculous scenario involving a socialite, a jewel thief, Sing Sing prison, an alligator, and improbable coincidences—mocking the era's overwrought movie storylines. **"Let's Send Some Women"**: Suggests replacing incompetent male diplomats with female representatives, sarcastically implying women couldn't perform worse given recent diplomatic failures. **The cartoon** (bottom right) depicts a large man towering over a small figure, with the caption "Ach! Vat a big man I am!"—likely stereotyping German/Eastern European immigrants with exaggerated self-importance. The page reflects Progressive-era American anxieties about immigration, diplomatic conduct, and entertainment culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
290 The Jingo LL day he prates of hyphenates and swears their very hearts he hates, And vows they should he guillotined and boiled in jars of grease; - His sleep’s disturbed by muttering with rage that starts him stuttering, But when it comes to action he's an advocate of peace. How to Write a Moving Picture Play ANY people have asked us this question. The best imple scenario. way we can tell you is to submit a Bertha Clay, a suburban society queen, is found in a snowdrift at four o'clock one afternoon, where she had hecome lost from her limousine the night before on the way home from a bridge party. (Screen) “That car must have got away from me.” Her rescuer is a popular real estate agent who has just moved into town, and who is really Diamond Jake, the celebrated second-story man, He carries her home, not noticing that her diamond necklace, valued at one hundred thousand dollars, has fallen off on the front piazza (Close view of diamond necklace, showing real facets.) The necl lowed by a pet alligator that Bertha has heen taming to hitch to the village snow-plough, The agent goes out, the necklace is missing, he is arrested and thrown into Sing Sing, where he stays for thirty years. Bertha is t away on a desert isle with the alligator, starves, finally cuts him up, eats him, discovers necklace, hurries back to Sing Sing on first movie steamer, arrives in time to see Diamond Jake about to be shot for taking the part of new prison reformer, who proves to be Bertha’s son. (Sereen) “ Are you ready? Shoot! Bertha lassoes guard with necklace, throws alligator skin over Jake, and takes him back to snowdrift, where they are married by an all-Boston clergyman. ce is sM Let's Send Some Women PEAKING of the surprising lapses from good taste and official courtesy in rapid succession on the part of so many foreign diplomatists, the World says that they: Tend to exhaust American patience . We do not hesitate to discipline our own diplomats and repre- sentatives abroad We have a right to expect that other countries will deal equally sternly with their agents here. In view of the constant indiscretions of so many men diplomatists, why has nobody thought to inaugurate the custom of appointing women as our foreign representa- tives? 1f the men have so constantly failed, why not give the women a chance? It would be interesting to see what results would follow. CERTAIN amount of medical research is necessary to holster up the fears which mankind has a constant tendency to outgrow and without which the art of healing would be helpless to achieve its noble ends. = MEME “ACH! VAT A BIG MAN TAM!” Information Wanted lr has been made perfectly clear that there are no ships with which to send our products abroad It has also been made perfectly clear that our export trade recently has been the greatest in the history of the country. Will somebody, therefore, please explain what convey- ances are being used to send these exports across the water, whether wheelbarrows, toboggan-slides, jitney busses or baby-carriages? News of the Day (ls It Ought To Bey M® JOSEPHUS DANIELS sent in his resignation as Secretary of the Navy. Mr. Bryan is learning German, and when proficient in that language will take up his residence in Berlin, where he will lecture daily on “ Peace.” comicbooks.com