Life, 1916-03-09 · page 11 of 44
Life — March 9, 1916 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon satirizes American military preparedness during what appears to be the World War I era. A teacher (labeled "To Hell With The Teacher") threatens students with extra letters about their summer behavior—a joke about punishment and authority. The articles below discuss two absurd scenarios: establishing naval yards in landlocked states (Oklahoma, Nebraska, Kansas, Indiana) to supposedly boost military readiness, and a man who rapidly purchased a Russian villa, yacht, and claimed to represent the Russian government as a purchasing agent—acquiring 7,000 automobiles and war material in three months. Both pieces mock wasteful government spending, fraudulent business schemes, and post-war profiteering. The smaller cartoon ("For Fun or for Keeps?") appears unrelated domestic humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Se aN % C% UNITED Stohee. FAKES = “ NOW, BOYS, IF YOU DO THIS ALL SUMMER I SHALL HAVE TO WRITE YOU SOME MORE LETTERS ABOUT IT” Merely a Suggestion INCE we have army posts in all sorts of absurd and unfit places, why would it not be a good thing to en- thuse Oklahoma and Nebraska and Kansas and Indiana on behalf of an adequate navy, by establishing navy yards at Guthrie, Omaha, Emporia and Indianapolis? A few Lillion dollars spent in these states for dry docks and emergency repair shops for battle-ships would prove a powerful stimulus for preparedness in the minds of the statesmen from those districts. A Buyer for Russia 'HE man who appeared at Palm Beach one Saturday in February, bought a furnished villa on Sunday, moved into it on Monday, and acquired a yacht on Tuesday with immediate possession, and blossomed out as an en- tertainer, was naturally a purchasing agent for the Rus- sian rmment resting his faculties after three months of activity. The paper said he had bought 7,000 automo- biles and other war material. The story strengthens the tradition that there is abundance of easy money in the job of being purchasing agent for the Russian govern- ment. Nevertheless, it is possibly profitable for the Rus- sian government to have a representative at Palm Beach who can entertain, “POR PUN OR FOR KEEPS?” comicbooks.com