Life, 1916-05-11 · page 36 of 48
Life — May 11, 1916 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features literary reviews and a public service appeal disguised as editorial content. **The Main Image:** Shows a woman holding stacks of cards labeled "NABISCO" biscuits—this illustrates a book review (likely advertising-adjacent content) about a publication. **Book Reviews** discuss works by William Allen White and Olive Higgins Prouty, critiquing their literary merit and social commentary about American life. **"Please Finance These Birdmen"** is the substantive editorial piece: During WWI, the U.S. faced a critical shortage of trained military pilots compared to European powers (France had over 2,000 qualified flyers; America had 24). The editorial advocates establishing a flight training school on Long Island and solicits donations from readers to fund it, providing a contact address in Boston. This represents civilian mobilization for military preparedness during America's WWI involvement. The page reflects early-20th-century Life's mix of literary criticism, consumer advertising, and patriotic advocacy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
bandying repartee across the River Styx at St. Louis, Missouri, for the past thre years, Most Americans have heard ru mors of these happenings. In “ Patience Worth, a Psychic Mystery " (Holt, $1.40 Casper S. Yost has given us the history of them, as well as selections from the conversations, poetry, narrative and dra matic dictations of this mysterious and highly talented — ? . T ERE is nothing other-worldly abou: William Allen White's dictations. In the two novelettes and three shori stories contained in “God's Puppets (Macmillan, $1.25), a number of un takable children-of-this-world, subdued to the Kansas local color in which they move, enact for us the tragi-comic spec tacle of life in New Raynahm—life so cial, political, financial and country-jour ralese. And the only spirit present is the understanding and smiling spirit of the editor who watches while, under God, he pulls the strings, LIVE HIGGINS PROUTY, novel called “The Fifth Wheel” (Stokes, $1.35), tells the story of a y American girl whose family were back ing her for the Society Sweepstakes, | who, just as she was turning into t home stretch, with the altar and a million or so in prize money just ahead, took the bit in her teeth and bolted. Of course, a young lady who takes the bit in her tecth so as not to be a fifth wheel is a mixed metaphor, But then a pipe dream love story that thinks it is bein: naturalistic fiction is a mixed pip. J.B. Kerfoot Please Finance These Birdmen LYING men have come to be indis pensable to the proper transaction of modern war, Men do not yet fly by nature. They have to learn how. enough Americans are skilled in branch. The French have over qualified flyers. Our army at last < counts had twenty-four. Word comes from Cambridy Massa chusetts, that the Harvard Flying Corps has been organized with eighty- members, under command of Frazier of the eternal female who arrives, via hrained, unintelligent masters and ma- Curtis, lately invalided out of the French the next liner torpedoed, to join the com: nipulators of the U-so. Flying Corps after an accident. pany. The author is so pizen-spleenish It is proposed to start a flying school about the Germans that he has ru I" is also a bit difficult to believe—or on Long Island for these zealous youths. his own tale in order to relieve his mind to know what to believe—in the case of Money is wanted, and may be sent to No one outside the zone of hate can Patience Worth, the highbrow “haunt” Dr. Seabury W. Allen, 20 Charles River possibly believe in the fishy-eyed, sodden who has been dictating literature and Square, Boston, Mass. OVER 10000 TEADING. DEALER E Rosenfeld & apn ede Hew Yo: comicbooks.com