Life, 1917-01-11 · page 30 of 38
Life — January 11, 1917 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon ("When a Man's Busy"):** A satirical diagram showing various people interrupting a busy man—his stenographer, private secretary, wife, insurance agent, pastor, and others all demanding his attention simultaneously. This mocks the chaos of modern urban life and competing demands on professional men's time. **"Horum Omnium Fortissimi Sunt Belgae":** A patriotic poem honoring Belgium's resistance during WWI, describing Belgians as a nation "nailed upon a bloody cross" who lose their country but gain moral authority through suffering. **"Hopeless":** Social satire about New York nightlife—mocking the wealthy's endless quest for midnight entertainment after late dinners, criticizing the monotony and expense of nightclubs and orchestras. It's satirizing upper-class ennui during wartime. **"Out of Bounds":** An allegorical dialogue where Kaiser Wilhelm arrives at heaven's gates and St. Peter confronts him with Germany's WWI atrocities (Belgian invasion, broken treaties, destruction). Wilhelm's attempt to justify himself with a "White Book" (Germany's official war justification) fails. The page reflects 1917-1918 American anti-German sentiment during WWI.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
70 “ib DPR ° very Im PORTANT MESSAGE imguRAMee YouR TWAT MER Cr.or Town AGENT PASTOR CHORUSGIRL LAWYER RELATIVE vour STENOGRAPHER 1 your your a PRIVATE SECRETARY Couector SON-IN-Law “WHEN A MAN’s BUSY” “Horum Omnium Fortissimi Sunt Belgae ” COUNTRY and a king were theirs, and now, Out of quiet homes and busy workshops hurled Into red war by broken faith and vow, They lose their country, and they gain—the world. A nation nailed upon a bloody cross, . They take our reverence, who can nothing bring, Their king more kingly in his kingdom's loss And every fighting Belgian crowned a king. Ruth Wright Kauffman. Hopeless N New York the great question is now rapidly becoming: What shall we do with our midnights? In past generations people used to dine at six or six-thirty. Now they dine at eight, and at midnight, after they have eaten another meal, they go to some entertainment. The main difficulty is the lack of variety in these entertainments. You sit for an hour or so at a table, drinking wine that you don’t want, listen- ing to an orchestra that you wish you couldn't hear, look- ing at women that you don’t want to see, and being relieved by the management of money that you ought not to have anyway. The monotony of this performance is appalling. Anyone who can invent a new way for New Yorkers to be robbed is entitled to an iron cross. There is no object in going to bed in New York any If you are married you have to cook your own breakfast. If you are single you will be wanted in the suburbs, thus'adding to the horrors of existence. And the law forbids New Yorkers from going to a drug store and buying anything that will render them unconscious. more. RMANY: I am almost down and out—but if you will make peace with me I'll let you off. Out of Bounds 'HE Kaiser came to the Pearly Gate, unto St. Peter in his state. “Good day,” he said. “I'm here,” he said. St. Peter took from his knees a paper. “ Answer these,” was all he said. And Wilhelm read the list—a treaty broken, a small land raped after high oaths spoken, an iron fist that made endless killing and spilling of blood of men and women and children; and then God’s vast cathedral blown to bits, and so on. Wilhelm collected his wits and smiled, “Here is my White Book, compiled by our learned logicians and meta- physicians, explaining away all that you say.” St. Peter’s face was unchanged. “This act—when Bel- gium was conquered and sacked, and her sons in their graves, you broke one more vow, and took the rest to be slaves. What now?” “You heard of that? way. Good day.” Nay, I did not mean to come this “NO MAN'S LAND” THE SITE OF HIS OLD HOME comicbooks.com