Life, 1917-05-10 · page 19 of 46
Life — May 10, 1917 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate satirical pieces from wartime America (appears to be WWI-era, given references to "the war" and German spies). **"To Young Americans"** argues that despite America having flaws—traitors, hypocrites, time-servers—young men should understand and defend the "real America" of ideals. **"Disease Authorities"** (with accompanying comics) satirizes government overreach: a Long Island man's dog dies; health officials force him to undergo rabies treatment despite no bite occurring. The treatment itself causes blood poisoning and kills him. The author (Ellis O. Jones) sarcastically suggests these "health authorities" should be called "disease authorities" instead. **The cartoon "In the Air"** depicts a housewife suspicious of a visitor, worrying about German spies—reflecting wartime paranoia about enemy infiltration on the home front. **"Waste"** criticizes government inefficiency, arguing that eliminating unnecessary bureaucratic positions would be more patriotic than food conservation efforts. The page reflects typical WWI-era American concerns: national loyalty, government competence, and civilian security anxieties.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
To Young Americans ANY Americans have misjudged 1V4 their country in the past, and are Jing so to-day. There are, for exam- le, Americans who say that the war vas brought on us by American muni- m makers, and that our press is a vught press. That is not true. There re in America men who stoop to gain too many of them, perhaps. There ore traitors, There are time-servers. there are hypocrites. But these men » not make the real America. The cal America is a country of ideals, a untry that has gone to war in the st for the sake of humanity, and is it again. What the real America is written in her history. It is not all spotless, but in comparison with the history of the nations of the world, the real America stands above them all, And it is this real America that every young American ought to know and understand, Let him look at his country full in the face, question her closely, examine her fairly, and he will then have faith in what the real Amer- ica stands for, Let him enlist for that reason—that America, as he under- stands it, must persist. Disease Authorities LONG ISLAND citizen had a dog which he loved, and which fell ill and died. When the health authorities learned of this they declared it quite likely that the dog might have had rabies and that the owner might have Leen infected, although the dog had. not bitten him. On the hasis of these suspicions, the health authorities declared that the owner would have to undergo inocula- tion with the Pasteur treatment. The MAKING A LIVID ZY NN \ \ \ % SS \ BE S S WS Qh 'g TN WS NS S IN THE AIR SEEMS PERFECTLY FREE FROM GERMAN SPIES, BUT— I HAVE MY SUSPICIONS owner submitted to this. When he began the treatments he was apparent- ly in the best of health, but after a few treatments he became infected with blood poison and gangrene, and quickly died. Wherefore it might not be improper to ask our health authorities to show cause why they shouldn't be called disease authorities. Ellis O. Jones. Waste E waste almost a billion dollars worth of food every year, but that’s not a drop in the bucket com- pared with what we waste in the form of wages to useless officials. If every official who isn’t needed should quit his place he would do a very patriotic thing. Spectacular, too, for that matter, comicbookererey i)