Life, 1917-08-16 · page 16 of 40
Life — August 16, 1917 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes Prussian military brutality and misconduct, likely responding to German atrocities during World War I. The "Rules of Decorum" mockingly present violent, destructive behavior—murder, poisoning, bombing, theft, desecration—as proper etiquette for Prussian officers. The cartoons illustrate this absurdist humor: one shows figures engaged in swordplay or fencing, while another depicts a wealthy man with a dollar sign amid clouds (titled "I Thought Riches Had Wings"), likely mocking wealth destruction mentioned in the text. The final numbered rule about civility toward women is particularly bitter, quoting Chesterfield before subverting it: the "proper" Prussian response to civility is beating and violating women. Authored by Kenneth L. Roberts, this reflects American anti-German sentiment and shock at documented war crimes, using extreme satire to condemn what the author presents as Prussian military culture's fundamental depravity and disregard for civilian life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
256 Rules of Decorum and Social Etiquette for Members of the Prussian Military Set | se of manner is of the utmost ‘importance. When firing a re- volver at a young girl or an old man, try to avoid any appearance of regret or embarrassment at mussing the floor. 2. The salutation is the touchstone of good breeding. On entering a lute the company by “swine” and by drawing-room, s addressing them as pulling all the pictures from the wall. 3. Should you call upon a lady at an inconvenient hour, and feel your- self an intruder, the tension may be relieved by touching a match to a lace curtain or shooting at the lamps. 4. Gentlemen will do well to bear in mind that when they pay morning calls they must carry their hats with them into the drawing-room, kick out all the windows and hack the plaster from the ceiling with their swords. 5. In good society, a visitor, unless he is a complete stranger, does not wait to be invited to sit down, but takes a seat at once. If there are any silver dishes or objets d’art lying about, he takes them as well. 6. Upon taking leave of a host and hostess, express the pleasure you have experienced in your visit by kicking them in the face and setting off a stick of dynamite in the front hall. 7 at a dinner party, the waiter has neglected to minister to all your needs, break a vial of poison gas in his face. 8. While walking the street, no one should be so absent-minded as to neg- lect to recognize his friends. If you do not stop, you should at least throw a bomb at your friend or push him into the gutter. 9. If there is any person whose “FOKE AND AFT” “| THOUGHT RICHES HAD WINGS” favor you particularly wish to gain, you may best do so by killing a few of his children and wrecking the bank in which he keeps his money. 10, On entering a church, a gentle- man should throw rocks through all memorial and stained-glass windows, start a fire under the altar, and shoot all clergymen, deacons and choir-boys who show themselves. 11. Chesterfield says: “Civility is particularly due to all women. No provocation whatsoever can justify any man in not being civil to every wom- an; and the greatest man would justly be reckoned a brute if he were not civil to the meanest woman.” Conse- quently every Prussian officer and gen- tleman will show his solicitude and respect for the weaker sex by beating them, enslaving them, violating their honor and murdering them whenever the opportunity presents itself. Kenneth L. Roberts. comicbook xu ]