Life, 1917-01-11 · page 24 of 38
Life — January 11, 1917 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces of WWI-era American satire: **"Perhaps" poem** (top left): A bitter commentary on German war indemnities imposed on Belgium. The author (K.L.R.) sarcastically questions why Germany demands payment from a nation it has devastated, suggesting German motivations are either a cruel "joke," desires for Prussian dominance, or compensation for world disgust at German conduct ("traitors' tricks," "bestial lust," "broken pacts"). **"The Capitalist pays a five dollar bill"** (top right): A circular diagram-cartoon showing money's journey through economic classes—from capitalist employer to employee to butcher to doctor to garage owner to grocer to lighting company to the capitalist's president. It satirizes wealth circulation in capitalism. **"Super Office Boys"** (center): Praises elderly men replacing boy messengers in offices, arguing this restores dignity to menial work and introduces courtesy and careful attention to detail. **"What's a Picture, Between Friends?"** (bottom): A darkly humorous anecdote about a German officer casually directing an American photographer to destroyed Belgian buildings as photo subjects, implying German indifference to destruction.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Perhaps The revenues of Belgium are be- ing collected by the Germans as an indemnity,—News item. The Capitalist pays 2 five dollar bil to his employee— T’S difficult for me to see (And do not think T have not tried) The reason Germans wish to be Indemnified For laying waste a smiling land And robbing crushed and_ helpless folk. It must be some unpleasant brand Of German joke! Perhaps they wish it since they think That Prussia only should exist, And that all other folk should sink Beneath her fist. Perhaps it pays for the disgust whe Uiesit With which the world regards their ¢9 settle with acts— | the garage owner Their traitors’ tricks, their bestial lust, 30 Their broken pacts. K.L.R. who surrenders it to the Lighting Company — Super Office Boys FICE boys having practically be- come extinct, elderly gentlemen are now taking their places—and do- ing mighty good work. They ought to infuse some life into the District Messenger service. The fact is that there is just as much dignity to the labor of an office boy as there is to the heads of businesses. It is only because the positions have hitherto been given to young and more or less irresponsible individuals, who cos) whistled at their work and forgot half the time to fill the inkwells, that we came to regard this work as irreveren- tial, The truth is that it takes a long experience of life to learn the value of little things—to learn that the little amenities and the apparently trivial duties come within the realm of the highest art. Now that elderly gentle- men are becoming office boys, a new and gentle profession will be added to our business curriculum. What can- whose President is the Capitalist who, originally owned i¢ + Vor beRow al What's a Picture, Between Friends? the carly days of the ravaging of Belgium, an American photographer-corre- not a cultured and learned office boy spondent, at Louvain, asked the German lietitenant acting as his guide if he of sixty teach of modesty, of manners, might take any pictures. of true courtesy, to some of the “Certainly,” replied the officer. “ You'll find one or two good ones left in that younger heads of our businesses! house over there.” comicbooks.com