Life, 1916-07-06 · page 19 of 42
Life — July 6, 1916 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts two figures labeled Hughes and Fairbanks in a dialogue about "warming up the country" through military action. These are Charles Evans Hughes (Republican presidential candidate) and James Sherman Fairbanks (his running mate), shown as ghostly or spectral figures—likely satirizing their perceived lack of substance or presence compared to the incumbent. The satire criticizes their aggressive rhetoric toward Mexico. Hughes and Fairbanks's exchange about starting a "conflagration" mocks their bellicose campaign posturing. The accompanying text suggests Wilson has political advantage because he can "back up his discourses with orders"—he's actually mobilizing troops, whereas his opponents merely talk. The broader commentary warns that military adventurism in Mexico, while framed as "regeneration," actually serves imperialist capitalism. The cartoon satirizes how military action helps Wilson electorally while obscuring his true imperial aims behind humanitarian language.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
INFLAMMATORY Hughes: po YOU THINK WE CAN WARM UP THE COUNTRY? Fairbanks: START A CONFLAGRATION, United States is the strongest possible stimulant to the development of such a power in Mexico. If anything can galvanize the Mexican governmental mind into an efficient performance it is the prospect of an American in- vasion, The next best thing for Mex- ico to a strong Mexican army that can keep order is a strong and ready Amer- ican army that can compel order, Of course it is a dirty job to compel order in Mexico, but possibly the threat to do it, backed by the visible means to do it with, will be enough. We may MOST CERTAINLY! OUR COMBINED PERSONALITIES OUGHT TO yet get off without a war, but if we do it will be because we have got ready. HERE are a lot of undecided vot- ers in the country. Habitual Re- publicans who voted last time for Mr. Wilson seem disposed to turn to Mr. Hughes. Some habitual Democrats have developed impatience with Mr. 19 Wilson and will quit him, but the great mass of them will stick. Political habit will determine most of the votes, as it always docs. But the Bull-Moose party will split, and no one knows yet how it will split; and a large company of independent voters do not yet know which candidate they will favor, but will wait to see what happens. All this military activity is going to make a difference to the voters. Mr. Hughes will talk, Mr. Roosevelt will talk, and Mr, Wilson will talk. But Mr. Wilson will have the advantage of the other gentlemen this time, in that he can back up his discourses with orders. The real fight is the old one between the Celestials and the Carnals, but with the Celestial leader so active in raising troops the issue gets a little beclouded. Nevertheless, if Mr. Wilson gets his armies, the purpose behind them will be the Celestial purpose as much as ever. If his incursion into Mexico takes serious proportions, its aim will be not American advantage, but Mex- ican regeneration. It is true the two things belong together. According to the notions that prevailed in the world before the Great War, and are not yet entirely dissipated, industrial develop- ment is good for countries, and though the exploitation of Mexico's riches for the benefit of predatory outside capi- talists is a bogie that does not down, a Mexico in which outside capital is not safe will be very slow in coming to its own, and will hardly be a happy place even for Mexicans. EOPLE ask you if you think the war in Europe will end this sum- mer. Not being in the confidence of the Almighty you don’t know, but if the last impression you got from the newspaper was favorable to an early peace you say you think it will. It is a subject on which thought docs not help much. In such matters some relicf sometimes comes by betting. The Boston man who bet five hundred dollars even that the war will still be proceeding in November, 1917, should have had odds—don’t you think?— . least two to one, comicbooks.com