Life, 1916-09-21 · page 11 of 44
Life — September 21, 1916 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon depicts a steam roller on a city street with an operator and passengers. A nurse with a baby carriage stands before it, and the operator says, "Go ahead, nurse. We have the right of way." The accompanying text is titled "Little Speeches for Great Moments (On being summoned for service with the National Guard)." It's a satirical monologue from a draftee justifying his military service to his wife and family—claiming he's not a coward, acknowledging he's "just an ordinary person," but explaining he joined the Guard despite his reservations. The cartoon likely satirizes military conscription or draft obligations, with the steam roller symbolizing the unstoppable force of military/governmental authority crushing individual resistance, while the nurse's baby carriage represents vulnerable civilian life. The juxtaposition mocks the rhetoric used to rationalize compulsory service.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“CO AHEAD, NUKSE. WE HAVE THE RIGHT OF WAY.” Little Speeches for Great Moments (On being summoned for service with the National Guard) ELLOW CITIZENS: Theoretically, I am going to fight for my country. In reality, I am going to devote several months—perhaps years—of my time, money and labor to protect the business interests that have involved this country with another. I do not want to go particularly. I have a wife and family to support, and I know that some other fellow is likely te have my job when I get back, in spite of my employer's patriotic promises. Yet I do not feel like quitting. If I did quit now my life would be made miserable by the world I live in. I would be accused of cowardice, and, to be frank with you, I would do almost anything to escape that accusation. 1 haven't the slightest idea of what I am going to fight for, or of the real issues involved. I have no fear of being shot; at least, I am willing to take that chance. Possibly, if I do not die of appendicitis, or some disease contracted in camp, I shall be much better off physically than I was before. But, to be frank with you, I cannot see that I am contributing anything to the intelligent conduct of the world, or to the general enlightenment of mankind, by my enlistment. I am not an unusually brave man, nor an un- usually weak one. I am just an ordinary person who would like to be happy without being forced to murder my fellow men. However, I joined the Guard in a moment of enthusiasm, and now I am willing to take the consequences, Realizing that if I am killed you will inevitably erect a monument to my heroic memory, I take this occasion to assure you that I am not a hero, but a human being who would vastly prefer the love and comforts of home to the arduous and hazardous duties of the field. I thank you. Dd. B, comicbooks.com