Life, 1917-04-05 · page 22 of 70
Life — April 5, 1917 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top illustration depicts celestial bodies orbiting around a central object labeled "Militarism," using astronomy as a metaphor for unwanted social agitation. Below, the text mocks **Emmeline Pankhurst**, the famous British suffragist, whose daughters Sylvia and Adela pursued anti-conscription activism during World War I. Mrs. Pankhurst publicly disowned their pacifist positions, cabling her "shame" from America. Life's satire ridicules young women activists as habitually incapable of redirecting their energy toward patriotic war support. The piece compares such "agitation" to an infectious disease affecting suffragists, pacifists, and anti-war activists (naming Upton Sinclair and others). The dialogue below jokes that Congress itself embodies "pro-German" pacifism—sarcastically suggesting American political leadership obstructs the war effort. This reflects 1917-era hostility toward conscription opponents and pacifists during U.S. involvement in World War I.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SATELLITES Sorrows of a Mother RS. PANKHURST is now joined to the long list of mothers who grieve at their daughters’ headstrong deportment. She is strong to carry on the war, but the daughters hold to other trails that conflict with war purposes. They both seem to be anti-conscription. Last year Sylvia got out with banners in Trafalgar Square to beat the government in some matter, and the mother had to cable from these States that she “strongly repudiated and condemned Sylvia's foolish and unpatriotic conduct.” Very lately Adela has been on the job in an anti-conscription and anti- Hughes campaign in Australia, and her disgusted mother cables: “ Ashamed of Adela and repudiate her.” The young ladies seem to have the habit of agitation against the government too firmly fixed on them to be disturbed by alittle thing like a world war. It is a habit that has serious drawbacks. We have dreadful instances of its ravages among the suffragists in this country, notably among those who have been besieging the White House. When acquired early in life and fixed by violent indulgence and head-line advertisement, recovery from it is rare. Young women are not its only victims. Men con- ‘tract it too—Bouck White and Scott Nearing, for example —and pursue publicity to the destruction of their usefulness in less vociferous callings. Probably the chance for recovery is a little better in the case of men than of young women. Upton Sinclair has heen quiet for some time, and it is several months sinc Pinney Earle got married again. Possibly they are con- valescent “Stand by the President” HY If an American citizen prefers to stand by his own flag, by the honor of his country, by the Allies and by the principles of human liberty, why should he stand by a per- sistent pacifist who happens to be, temporatily, at the head of the nation? ODD: Yes. I'm going to take my hoy down to Wash- ington and let him take a look at Congress. Tovo: Good idea! To let him sce for himself what a pro-German looks like. comichooks.com