Life, 1917-07-26 · page 16 of 40
Life — July 26, 1917 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page satirizes WWI-era American attitudes toward debt and sacrifice. The top three cartoons depict how new military recruits appear differently to various observers: to sweethearts as angelic victory figures, to pacifists as demonic tempters, and to drill sergeants as disciplinary subjects. This mocks the competing narratives surrounding military service. The main text, "A Letter to Posterity," is scathing satire. The current generation addresses future generations, essentially apologizing for passing war debts to them while admitting they cannot/will not pay these expenses themselves. The tone is mockingly formal and shameless—they acknowledge the debt is unfair but expect posterity to pay "in the same blithe spirit" as past generations did. The bottom cartoon labeled "Mental Control" appears to show someone training/controlling another, likely commenting on propaganda or governmental persuasion regarding the war effort. The Uncle Ezra dialogue makes a simpler joke about exhaustion differences between urban and rural life, offering light relief amid heavier wartime commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TO HIS SWEETHEART, A Letter to Posterity EAR POSTERITY: We seize this, the earliest possible opportunity, to apprise you of certain matters in which you have a deep interest. For reasons which it is unnecessary to enter into at this time, we are engaging in war and preparations for war which require the expenditure of vast sums of money. Now nothing would please us more than to have the ineffable privilege of paying this expense entirely out of our pockets, but, frankly, owing to the high cost of living, and other MENTAL CONTROL AS THE NEW RECRUIT APPEARS TO THE PACIFIST, AND TO THE DRILL SERGEANT unwonted drains upon our far from slender resources, we find ourselves rather short of funds just at present, and so it is absolutely necessary to shift a part of this burden of expense to other shoulders than our own. Unfortunately, dear Posterity, the only other shoulders are yours. We can do absolutely nothing with our An- cestry. You can see that for yourself. Furthermore, we would have liked the opportunity to consult you and secure your endorsement before making this necessary move, but that also, as you can see, was impossible. In spite of all that, however, may we ask your indulgence, even as the indulgence of other Posterities has been be- sought by other Ancestries, and may we urge upon you faithfully to pay, in the same blithe spirit in which they were contracted, the debts which we pass along to you? With kindest regards, even unto the third and fourth generation, we are Sincerely, Your ImMepiate ANCESTORS, NCLE EZRA: So ye just got back from New York! What's the difference between the city and the country? Uxcte Esen: Wal, in the country you go to bed feeling . all in and get up feeling fine, and in the city you go to bed fceling fine and get up feeling all in, comicbooks Gam