Life, 1916-12-21 · page 13 of 36
Life — December 21, 1916 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon:** Depicts military figures (appearing to be German, based on the spiked helmets) transporting what look like civilian recruits or conscripts in cannons. The general's dialogue mocks "the last class of reserves" as "troops of a very inferior quality." This satirizes German military practices, likely commenting on forced conscription or the declining quality of late-war recruits—possibly referencing WWI conditions. **"A Good Business Suggestion":** References a New York Times report about Dr. Holladay proposing citywide smallpox vaccination. The text notes vaccination cannot prevent smallpox but that vaccinations cost money. The satire appears to critique either the medical establishment's profit motives or skepticism about vaccination's efficacy. **"No Choice":** A brief humorous anecdote about a mother and son named Johnnie, where Satan supposedly pushed the child into a flower bed—an absurdist joke.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ISS DISS DER LAST CLASS OF RESERVES, CHENERA “OH, NO, MACHESTY. DER LAST CLASS ISS TROOPS OF A VERY INFERIOR QUALITY.” A Good Business Suggestion APROPOS of cases of smallpox in different parts of the country, we are told, in the New York Times: Dr. Bolduan said the Health De- partment would urge the immediate vaccination of every person, child and adult, in the city. Vaccination canfot prevent small- pox, but three million vaccinations at even one dollar apiece are worth con- sidering. No Choice OTHER (to Johnnie, who had been forbidden to walk on the flower bed): Johnnie, didn't I tell you the other day that when you felt like walking on the flower bed to say, “ Get thee behind me, Satan”? Jounnie: Yes, mother, and I did She: YeS, AND THIS MORNING MY STOCKINGS WERF FILLED WITH THE MOST say that, and he got right behind me ADORABLE. THINGS: and shoved me in, Bashful suitor: so. see