Life — June 14, 1917 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Explanation for Modern Readers The top cartoon shows a person spelling "LIFE" using four large letters/barrels, with a sea creature emerging from water. The caption "Well, that's done" suggests completing or launching something—likely a satirical reference to the magazine itself or a wartime production effort. The lower section, titled "Maxim Gunlets," presents cynical aphorisms about war, patriotism, and social behavior (attributed to Carolyn Wells). These mock jingoistic slogans and expose hypocrisy—for example, "Pacifists never hear any good of themselves" and "Money makes the war go." The illustration below shows an anxious couple surrounded by numerous children, captioned "Sh! Sh! Spies—one million of 'em!" This satirizes wartime paranoia about enemy spies while also commenting on domestic concerns about population and child-rearing during conflict.