Life, 1916-02-24 · page 27 of 48
Life — February 24, 1916 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon ("Aw, Jimmy!—Go On!—Be a German!")** A street scene depicts children pressuring a boy named Jimmy to "be a German," likely referencing anti-German sentiment during World War I. The satire mocks how Americans were coercing others into patriotic conformity or hostile attitudes toward Germans, portraying such peer pressure as childish mob behavior. **"Above the Stomach"** A critique of American passivity citing H.O. Taylor's *Atlantic* article. The piece argues the nation has been inactive since war began, functioning only at a basic survival level ("stomach") without engaging higher faculties (brain, mouth—thought and speech). The author notes this criticism became relevant precisely when government action finally occurred. **"A Universal Occupation"** A humorous complaint about the modern proliferation of misinformation. Unlike earlier eras when false information spread slowly via occasional liars and rare mail, modern technology (implicitly newspapers, telephony) enables constant misinformation delivery "at any address." **"Time Is Money"** A brief note mocking Wisconsin doctors' resistance to eugenic marriage law testing for only three dollars, while vaccination services charge more for less work—questioning inconsistent professional compensation standards.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“AW, JIMMY !—co ON !—BE A GERMAN!” Above the Stomach “ A BOVE the stomach,” says H. O, Taylor in the Atlantic, “this nation scarcely exists as a nation.” That is to say that though inert in so many particulars since the war began, it can still digest and still run away. Brother Taylor thinks these activities are insufficient. He even thinks our country’s predicament is pathetic. Take courage, Citizen Taylor! The stomach cannot long be comfortable without the cooperation of the brains and the mouth. Our official brains and mouth, you may notice, became active just about the time your above observation got into print. A Universal Occupation H*s the quest for misinformation ever been so keen as it is at the present time? One reason for this is that there is more misinformation. The other reason is that there are more people looking for it. There was a time when you could be misinformed only occasionally. You had to wait for a polished liar to come along on horseback. The mails were few. Printing presses were rare. You could go, maybe, for a week without learn- ing anything that was not so. Now you can be misinformed at any hour of the day and night. Misinformation is delivered to you at any address. Within a hundred miles of New York it is mostly free. Beyond that the rate is nominal. Nothing exceeds like misinformation, Time Is Money The Wisconsin Medical Society says it would take from four to six months to make the tests required by the eugenic marriage law, and the doctors decline to do the work fur three dollars. —Philadelphia Record, HY should they, when the price of vaccination runs all the way from twenty-five cents to three dollars, and you can do it in half a minute? comicbooks.com