Life, 1917-03-29 · page 4 of 42
Life — March 29, 1917 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes rising cost-of-living during an unspecified period when prices were climbing across necessities—clothing, food, and production costs for publications like *Life* itself. The image shows a fashionably dressed woman (representing the nation's leader or leadership) on a leash held by a smaller, overburdened soldier or working man carrying heavy packages and supplies. The visual metaphor inverts typical power dynamics: the "leader" is being led by ordinary citizens bearing the actual burdens. The satire critiques how common people follow leaders passively despite economic hardship caused by leadership decisions. The title's irony suggests citizens blindly obey while suffering inflation, making the cartoon a commentary on class disparity and the disconnect between leadership and working-class struggles during this inflationary period.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AIS Weck a Always Follow Your Leader At present our leader in this country is unquestionably the cost of living. Everything is going up. Clothes are going up. _ Easter hats are going up. Food is going up. Paper and all the mechanical contrivances, which go to make the production of a periodical like Lire possible, are going up. And yet, in spite of all this, in spite of the fact that the next number of Lire is a double number, and one of the most remark- able Easter Numbers ever issued; with centre page cartoon in color, a colored cover and innumerable pages filled with the work of the best artists and writers in the world—in spite of all this, we say, the Soectal price of this superb number will be only 25 cents, as usual, for the Easter issue. - Enclosed find One Dol- lar (Canadian $16} ‘seni Etre The Easter Number of Lire i a Next Week, 25 cents Issued Tuesday, April 3 You may have noticed that the atrocious coupon which regularly—in spite of all we can do—appears on this page has been transferred from the right-hand to the left- hand side. This is only a cheap ruse of the business office. They think by making it a little easier they can inveigle people into using the Open only to, new sulacribers: no aubseri- coupon and thereby becoming subscribers. Our tons renewed ott be Ne own is open and aboveboard. We claim LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York. 81, that if you want to subscribe to this paper, ‘ you will do so anyway, in spite of anything One Year, $5.00. (Canadian, $5.52; Foreign, $6.04.) \_ we can do. : comicbooks.com