Life, 1917-06-14 · page 23 of 38
Life — June 14, 1917 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1917 *Life* page critiques U.S. military unpreparedness during World War I. The lead article "Why Not?" quotes an unnamed presidential adviser admitting the government has accomplished little in defense preparations, especially in the navy and war departments, despite public perception otherwise. The piece argues Congress votes huge sums while newspapers create false impressions of progress, when in reality confusion reigns. The author warns that censoring the press may be the next step to hide this chaos. The photograph shows the "Hornet Bomb"—likely depicting trench warfare or bomb damage from the European conflict. The secondary piece "Are You Infallible?" is satirical commentary on authority figures (husbands, fathers) claiming infallibility at home while losing credibility publicly—referencing Tsar Nicholas II's failing authority in Russia as an example of collapsed infallibility. The cartoon at bottom is a racist dialect joke between stereotyped Black characters, typical of the era's unfortunately common caricatures in mainstream publications.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Why Not? GENTLEMAN declared to be one of the President's “most com- municative advisers” is quoted by the New York Tribune as follows: “Don’t fool the American people. 1 am afraid there is an impression through the land that a very great deal has been accomplished. This is a time of all others when it is up to the news- papers to tell the truth. . Asa matter of truth, very little has been accomplished, especially in the navy and war departments. Our unpre- paredness to strike a blow is literally appalling Fooling the American people is, un- fortunately, easier than it seems, for the reason that in the midst of so much that is contradictory, the average mind is hopelessly confused. The tremendous sums of money being voted by Congress, and the descriptions in the newspapers about the preparations being made, convey the impression that we are moving forward. But those who have been to Washington and are on the “inside” delare that all is hopeless confusion. Confusion is certainly what we may expect. For nearly three years, in the face of the most terrible war in his- tory, we have been marking time. When the avalanche is suddenly pre- cipitated upon a mass of people en- gaged jn the absorbing practice of counting their dollars, why shouldn't there be confusion? The one thing which now remains to conceal even this confusion is to “cen- sor” the press in such a way as to keep it from telling the truth. Is this the next move? “THIS IS A BEAUTIFUL, FAIR SPRING DAY, MR. JOHNSING.” “IT SURE IS, MISS MANDY, AN’ YOU JEST TYPIFIES THE DAY.” THE HORNET BOMB Are You Infallible? RE you infallible? Or is it that you only pretend to be infallible when talking to your children, your wife and other loyal underlings? Infallibility is a good thing to pos- sess if you can only get away with it, but this is not so easy as it used to be. In the days before civilization came and played such havoc with our dreams and fairy tales, infallibility was not at all a rare possession, persons of marked mediocrity often being able to invest themselves with it very successfully. But as time goes on, infallibility seems to get more and more out of hand, until even such a great man as Nicho- las Romanoff is unable to make it stand without hitching. If you have any infallibility about your person, hang on to it as a price- less boon. It is becoming a rare com- modity. comicbooks.com