Life, 1917-06-14 · page 28 of 38
Life — June 14, 1917 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page from 1917 contains WWI-era American propaganda and satire: **"The Song of the Mills"** is a patriotic poem celebrating American industrial production to supply the Allies (England, France, Italy, Russia) who lack manufacturing capacity during wartime. It frames factories as patriotic institutions fighting for freedom. **"The New Pupil"** cartoon satirizes military discipline: a stern drill sergeant instructs young recruits representing Allied nations (labeled England, France, Russia), depicting them as schoolchildren learning from American military expertise. **"Regenerated Breweries"** mocks Prohibition sentiment by celebrating breweries converting to non-alcoholic products (ginger ale, shutters) instead of beer. It sarcastically suggests authors must now write sober characters drinking malted milk rather than alcohol—reflecting America's shifting moral values during wartime. The page overall promotes American industrial might and moral superiority while the nation mobilized for war.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1040 “LIFE The Song of the Mills “We must supply everything with which the people of England and France and Italy and Russia have usually supplied themselves, but cannot now afford the men, the materials or the machinery to make.” —The President's Appeal, April, 1917. ROM valley and tide-washed plain, From eastern to western gate, We rouse to the strain of a new refrain, Rhythmical, strong, elate, Proclaiming our blest estate To the bounds of the echoing hills; Loyal the ring of the song we sing— The chant of the rallying mills! With lever and gear and wheel, With artifice manifold, With timber and steel and loom and reel, With grist of the harvest’s gold, We fashion, and grind, and mould, And weave, as our chorus thrills: Freedom's at stake for the wares we make— We are the tireless mills! We toil for a world-wide need, Unmindful of price or mart; We strive for the creed of the freeman’s breed, Till famine and fear depart. We throb with the pcople’s heart; Our vigor new life instills While we abide shall no want betide— We are the Nation's mills! Corinne Rockwell Swain. Apodictic MEEITARIS S propose, but gardeners dispose. THIS 15 NOT A SQUAD—IT IS Y A COMPOSITE PICTURE OF A BLOODTHIRSTY SERGEANT, AND A RECRUIT TRYING TO REMEM- BER WHICH 15 “PORT ARMS” Regenerated Breweries E of the largest breweries in the country has an- nounced its intention of going into the ginger ale busi- ness, and declares that it will produce the best ginger ale in the world—better than we have been getting from Eng- land and Scotland. Another firm, which has been supplying beer barrels and bungs for this brewery, is now manufac- turing blinds and shutters for houses. This shows what can be done, if you have to. Authors who have been producing alcoholic heroes may now have them living in a perpetual Y. M. C. A., drinking malted milk to the tune of “ Rock-a-bye Baby. THE NEW PUPIL comicbooks.com