Life, 1916-06-29 · page 12 of 41
Life — June 29, 1916 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page contains satirical commentary on American discourse around World War I. The cartoon titled "Talk" criticizes Americans' endless talking about foreign policy. It references discussion of Mexico's "numerous delinquencies" and General Oregón's forces near the border, suggesting Americans debated military intervention while doing little. The piece mocks this tendency to talk endlessly about replacing national symbols—suggesting we discuss swapping the eagle on coins for a parrot as "our national emblem" because Americans are such talkers. The other content includes a poem "The Great Man's Wife" (by Mabel Rice Bigler) and classical mythological cartoon "The Foul Fighter." These appear less politically charged, focusing instead on domestic and timeless themes rather than immediate wartime concerns.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
we one 2 < ASTRONOMY The Great Man's Wife HEY say, “Behold what self-con- trol is his! What calm indifference mighty one!” But only I know how he roars and growls At breakfast if his egg is overdone has this They say, “ How like a lion's challeng- ing His voice is heard, defending truth and right.” But I alone am witness to the fears And diffidence which grapple him at night. They say, “Wise, brilliant, great in deeds, but cold; Untouched by human need or sym- pathy.” And 1?) Why should I tell them that I know The warm and vibrant self he keeps for me? Mabel Rice Bigler. THE FOUL FIGHTER “cum LAUDE” Children with Parents To Discuss Course of Study for Children with Parents. —Headline in the Public Ledger. COURSE, that is, by which chil- dren may hope to bring their par- ents’ ideas up to the date. Poor children-with-parents! They have heavy responsibilities in these days. “GINCE you joined the Episcopal Church, have you developed any new virtues?” “Yes, humility,” answered the best- snubbed parishioner. Charon: wuy DIDN'T YOU GO OVER WITH YOUR MASTER? RE Americans to go down in the history of the present as the Na- tion of Talkers? We talked kindly and politely to Mexico about her numerous delin- quencies, and she responded amiably by crossing to Columbus and killing off all Americans in sight. This, of cours made some further talk necessary. General Obregon politely appeared (with forty thousand soldiers within calling distance) to talk the little mat- ter over, and while we were talking away Mexico again crossed our border “TE DIDN'T KNOW I WAS FOLLOWING,” Talk and killed some more of our citizens, We think our long-distance talking at war-deaf Germany is finally ended, but if another ship is sunk, as may of course happen at any time, we shall start all over again on a fresh epis- tolary debauch! If we really intend to keep only talk- ing, why not have everything in keep- ing—substitute the parrot for the eagle as our national emblem, engrave a phonograph instead of the head of Liberty on our coins, and mount a gilded polly on the Capitol dome? comicbooks.com