Life, 1917-08-02 · page 24 of 40
Life — August 2, 1917 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"His Number"** (poem by Samuel Ellsworth Kiser): A satirical poem about masculine authority and domestic power dynamics. The subject is a powerful businessman—a bully to his thousand employees, market manipulator, and strike-breaker—yet completely dominated by his wife. The humor derives from the ironic reversal: this tyrant "jumps through hoops" at her command. It's social commentary on how domestic relationships can humble even the most domineering men. **"The Helping Hand"** section critiques German military conduct during World War I. The definition of the Red Cross is immediately undercut by accusations that Germany violates its protections—torpedoing Red Cross ships, stealing medical supplies, and firing on unarmed Red Cross workers. This appears designed to generate outrage at German disregard for humanitarian law. **Bottom cartoon**: Shows armed soldiers guarding Wall Street/Broadway, warning civilians against Central Park picnics due to safety concerns—likely referencing wartime security anxieties or recent violence in New York.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
His Number ITH bravery which was rare, Nature, it scemed, had endowed him He wasn't afraid of a bear, And a mad bull couldn't have “cowed” him; It was one of his proudest boasts That he wasn’t afraid of a gun; He'd have laughed at a flock of ghosts, But his wife had him on the run, He was boss of a thousand men, Not one of whom dared to dispute him; There were magnates who dreaded him when The things they had done didn’t suit him; He had bullied men all his life, They quailed when his passion rose; But his knees went weak when his wife Snapped her fingers beneath his nose. When strikers surged at his door He met them with loud invections, And, shocked They scattered in all directions ; the oaths he swore, He could cause the market to slump Whenever he turned his hand ; But he was prepared to jump Through a hoop at his wi mand 's com- Samuel Ellsworth Kiser. THE HELPING HAND Definition of the Red Cross 2 Red Cross is the badge and of whatever nation, formed for the aid of the sick and wounded in time of war, recognized and authorized by the military authorities of its own nation, and enjoying—except at the hands of the German army—certain privileges and immunities under the treaty known as the Convention of Geneva, which assembled at Geneva, October 26, 1863. s, the German army considers itself privi- Having no respect for t leged to torpedo and sink without warning Red Cross ships loaded with wounded soldiers and nurses, to ap- propriate Red Cross supplies intended for the sick, the wounded and the starving residents of war-devastated districts, and to fire on unarmed mem- bers of the Red Cross who are engaged in succoring the wounded and the dying on the field of battle. The First Home Guard (stationed on post at Wall Street and Broadway) : No! IT WON'T BE SAFE FOR YOU TO PICNIC IN CENTRAL PARK TO-DAY! comicbooks.