Life — August 2, 1917 — page 27: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This WWI-era satire depicts an official at the War Department office instructing a military colonel to secretly move troops to ships, avoiding public view. The caption's irony critiques government attempts to suppress civilian war enthusiasm and public knowledge of military operations. The cartoon mocks the contradiction inherent in the directive: authorities claiming to seek public support for the war while simultaneously hiding troop movements from citizens. The globe, maps, and official documents visible in the office underscore the bureaucratic nature of this concealment strategy. The satire suggests that keeping military operations secret from the American public undermines genuine democratic support for the war effort. By depicting this as absurdly counterintuitive policy, the cartoonist ridicules wartime government secrecy and information control.