Life, 1916-05-11 · page 13 of 48
Life — May 11, 1916 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Illustration:** A formal diplomatic reception scene captioned with a joke about introducing "Count Przysotxikivkly Simotryiksvsky" — a deliberately unpronounceable Russian name. The humor mocks difficulty pronouncing Russian names during WWI diplomatic dealings. **Main Articles:** - "The Naval Wine Mess Order" discusses Admiral Fiske's letter proposing to eliminate officers' wine rations, arguing naval discipline shouldn't require alcohol deprivation. - An essay on submarine warfare and the Lusitania sinking critiques German military strategy. **"Chess" Poem:** Clinton Scollard's verse uses chess metaphors for life's struggles. **Bottom Cartoon:** Shows heavy traffic with caption "Hey there! Heavy traffic keep to the right" — appears to comment on wartime civilian regulation or traffic management.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ CHARMED, I'M SURE, BUT—ER—PARDON ME—I DIDN'T QUITE CATCH THE NAME.” detail, and keep the diplomatic doors open in Washington and Berlin. It is possible, if the German government dare do it. The trouble is that the sinking of the Lusitania, the Arabic, the Sussex, was of a piece with the whole German plan of world war, frightfulness and world domination. The whole scheme was atrocious, a plan based on worse than pagan morals; a deadly and ruthless ambition to crush the other nations by any means into conformity with the insane Teutonic purpose, To abandon her abominable submarine warfare against merchant ships is virtually for Germany to confess that she can never realize her undertaking. It would be admission that the wheels of her por- tentous machine are thrashing and rattling, and that the whole dia- bolical mechanism is on the eve of collapse. But the alternative is not much bet- ter. It is to put the conscience and the vast resources of the United States frankly on the Allies’ side, where virtu- ally they have been all the time, and where rightfully they belong. Germany is fighting two Gettysburgs at once, one at Verdun and one at Washington. It is the hope of civiliza- tion that she will lose them both. Our government declares that to sink the Lusitania was a crime. If Germany admits it she is self-condemned. If she denies it it devolves upon these States to insure her condemnation. E. S. Martin, Chess ] 4% only a pawn on the board — A pawn on the board of life, While you, with the mien of a queen, Are apart from the stress and strife. And yet there's a saying old That I've taken to heart, I ween; If “a cat may look at a king, Why, a pawn may look at a queen! Clinton Scollard. 889 The Naval Wine Mess Order DMIRAL FISKE'S suggestion in his letter to Secretary Daniels about the wine mess, of a possible dan- ger from cocaine, was not altogether fortunate, because there wasn’t any real danger that naval officers would take to cocaine. But neither was there a real danger from the wine mess. If our naval officers were men of so little self-control that they were not safe with wine on the table, then they would indeed have been in danger from co- caine if deprived of wine. The pith of the objection to the abo- lition of the officers’ wine mess was concisely stated by the Admiral when, observing that what made most for efficiency in the navy was the spirit of the service, he went on to say: Without this spirit no amount of regulations can avail. To hold our officers up to the country as a body of men lacking in the self-control necessary for the performance of their duty, which would be done by making an order of the kind sug- gested, would be to strike directly at their dignity as men and lower their pride in themselves and their calling. “WEY, THERE! HEAVY TRAPFIC KEEP TO THE RIGHT.” comicbooks.com