Life, 1916-12-21 · page 21 of 36
Life — December 21, 1916 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical pieces from Life magazine during World War I. **"In Justice to the Germans"** (main article): The author argues sarcastically that Germany shouldn't be judged for atrocities in occupied Belgium and France until the Allies occupy German territory and can be observed behaving the same way. The cynical point: all occupying armies commit brutalities, so condemning only the Germans is hypocritical. The author suggests prolonging the war specifically to test whether French and English soldiers would match German conduct in conquered German cities—implying they likely would. **"Italy vs. America: How They Spend Their Money"** (cartoon): Shows contrasting national stereotypes. The left panel depicts Italians at an opera house (cultural refinement, leisure). The right cartoon shows an American street vendor attempting to sell a broken knife for a nickel, with dialogue mocking the poor quality. The satire targets American materialism and commerce versus European sophistication—a common period stereotype portraying Americans as cheap, unsophisticated traders.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
In Justice to the Germans PREMATURE great injustice to the Germans in at least one particular. S t the Allies have occupied scarcely any Ger- man territory, except part of East Prussia, for a time, when the Rus- ians broke into it early in the war. he Germans have heen severely criti- ed for their behavior in invaded and occupied territory, especially Belgium. There is nothing to compare their con- duct with except the behavior of the Russians in East Prussia and in parts of Poland that they have slopped over into at times. It must be confessed that what we know of the deportment of the Russians in East Prussia makes against the assertion that the Germans are the only European people who shed the restraints of civilization in mo- ments of conquest, but we have yet to see how the French and English would behave in German territory, and whether or not they would rival the peace would | ITALY VS. AMERICA HOW THEY SPEND THEIR MONEY harbarities of Germans in Freneh and Belgian territory. In order that th be made and the relative barbarity of the Germans justly estimated, the war ought to go on until the Allies cross the Rhine, and especially get posses- comparison should sion of a few large German cities. We should sce then how far the Germans in Antwerp and Brussels have ex- ceeded the degree of oppression which military occupation warrants. It would be exceedingly interesting, for exam- ple, to compare the tribute levied by the Allics on Berlin with the lev extorted by the Germans from Brus- sels, as also, if the occupation lasted long enough, to sce if the Allies found it necessary to deport the Berliners to labor in Belgium and France. Of course if the Germans hurry peace too much, these interesting com- parisons cannot be made. But if so, they will deprive themselves of a valuable possibility of ameliorating the German reputation, “TLL SELL VE NICKEL.” THAT KNIFE FER A “awl IT AIN'T GOT NO BLADES.” “VE DON'T EXPECT A PERFECTLY GOOD. KNIFE FER A NICKELS vo yR?” comicbooks.com .