Life, 1916-03-23 · page 4 of 52
Life — March 23, 1916 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon depicts **John Paul Jones**, the Revolutionary War naval commander famous for the phrase "I have not yet begun to fight." The illustration shows him in a chaotic naval battle scene with explosions and cannon fire. The accompanying text frames this as commentary on American national pride and ideals. It suggests that Life magazine readers—positioned as patriotic Americans—should feel "humiliated" by current conditions, asking if they've experienced "a secret feeling that things are not quite as they should be." The reference to Jones appears designed to invoke historical American courage and defiance against humiliation, implying contemporary Americans should similarly resist whatever circumstances the magazine considers shameful to national values.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
He Did Not Humiliate Us! The great Humiliation Number of Life is now on its shamefaced way to the American people. Do you have a secret feeling that things are not quite as they should be? As an American citizen who places American ideals above dollars, are you frankly some- what humiliated? Announcement of the Winners of the $1000 Enclosed and other prizes in Lire’s Short Story Contest will be made in “Gnd One Dol: the superb Easter Number of Lire, which will be on all Co git, Cease news-stands in the country on Tuesday, April 4. | $4.36). Send Lire If you wish to know who won the prizes, get sell aed, cond a up early on this Tuesday morning and secure a copy of the number before it is all sold out—25 cents a copy— Unless you are fortunate enough to be a regular sub- scriber— Or intend to be- come one at once. J Open only to new subscribers; no sub- scriptions renewed at this rate. LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York a One Year, $5.00. (Canadian, $5.52; Foreign, $6.04.) comicbooks.com