Life, 1916-05-18 · page 32 of 48
Life — May 18, 1916 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate satirical pieces typical of Life magazine's political humor: **"Getting the Gin Out of Holland"** mocks the temperance movement's moral crusade against Dutch gin exports to African missions. The satire suggests the reformers' logic is backwards—that gin might actually *help* missionary work by creating greater need for missionaries. The piece cynically notes Holland needs to export *something*, and perhaps gin is preferable to burdening Belgian refugees. **"The Pickpocket"** (cartoon) shows a man stealing from a woman's purse while she attempts to convert him to religion. The caption reveals his claim he doesn't believe in heaven, and she's "convertin' him"—satirizing the contradiction between professed Christian values and actual behavior. **"Shall We Abolish Congress?"** is tongue-in-cheek political satire arguing Congress should be abolished, not because it's harmful, but because it's *boring*. The author sarcastically claims Congress has never accomplished anything useful, and suggests it will eventually collapse under its own irrelevance as Americans demand entertainment over institutional governance.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
956 Getting the Gin Out of Holland MOVEME is afoot to curtail the exportation of gin to mis- sion fields in Africa. Holland is said to be the chief exporter, and one reads that “since the war began operations in gin from Holland to Africa have been carried on through Boston! A society has been formed in Boston— a branch of an English society—to stop it.” Acquaintance with the influence of gin supports the impression that it would improve the fields for mission- ary purposes by increasing the need of missionaries. Nevertheless the Boston society objects. L FeE * What would it have Holland send to Africa? Tulips? A country must export what it has. Maybe it is better just now that Hol- land’s superfluous gin should go to Africans than to Holland’s Belgian refugees. Somchow it is expedient to get the gin out of Holland. The Hare and the Tortoise OSSIBLY it is England's strong point that she is so slow to learn. Germany learned a lot, learned it very fast, and a good part of it wasn’t so, and has got her into heaps of trouble. READ OUR NOT AIR STATISTICS. ~ SPERATORS, | THE PICKPOCKET “Gracious! THAT FoR? “HE SAYS HE DON'T BELIEVE IN HEAVEN, AN’ I'M CONVERTIN’ HIM.” WHAT AKE YOU DOING Shall We Abolish Congress? (eu ZAT movements often have small beginnings. Abolishing Congress may at the present moment seem like a large undertaking. Yet such a result is not an impossibi One of the great obstacles against abolishing Congress is its demonstrated In the entire gamut of American history, nobody has yet been able to point out a single useful thing that Congress has ever done. It would seem, therefore, that Congress has come to stay, if for no other reason than this. But there are, fortunately, other con- siderations. People are demanding more and more that everything they have to deal with or be occupied by shall be more or less interesting. at is why they are so firm for baseball, prize fights and moving pictures. That is why Mr. Ford was worth while. Ke gave peo- ple a hearty laugh. Congress, however, is becoming more and more uninterest- ing all the time—as it grows. It is therefore only a question of time when it is bound to fall of its own weight. uselessness. comicbooks.com