Life, 1917-07-26 · page 15 of 40
Life — July 26, 1917 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a WWI-era satirical page from *Life* magazine. The top cartoon depicts personified bottles of Tobacco, Coffee, Tea, and Liquor—luxuries subject to war taxes—lined up at a "Pay War Taxes Here" window, where a grim tax collector waits. The caption "Shocking Company for Two Nice Old Ladies" suggests these were considered vices, particularly unsuitable companions for respectable women. Below is "German Arithmetic," a darkly humorous list equating German military actions with civilian casualties and destruction (e.g., "Zeppelin raids equal 2 demonstrations of frightfulness," "Deported Belgians equal 10 unmarked graves"). The playing cards labeled "It's All the Man's Fault" appear unrelated satirical commentary. Together, these reflect American wartime sentiment and anti-German propaganda.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: 13 SHOCKING COMPANY FOR TWO NICE OLD LADIES German Arithmetic GERMAN equals 10 unkultured foreigners. 2 soldiers equal 10 civilians. 3 officers equal 12 privates. 4 treaties equal 8 scraps of paper. 3 poisoned wells equal 1 strategic retreat. 6 iron crosses equal 1 ruined cathedral. 7 Zeppelin raids equal 7 demonstrations of frightfulness. s equal 8 hearty meals (common people). gs equal 1 appet (aristocracy). 10 deported Belgians equal 10 unmarked graves. 11 torpedoed neutrals equal tt disavowals. 12 Gotts equal 1 Kaiser. “at's ALL THE MAN'S FAULT” comicbooks.com