Life, 1917-08-16 · page 26 of 40
Life — August 16, 1917 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the Christian Endeavor Society's campaign to exclude cigarettes and playing cards from "comfort bags" sent to American soldiers during World War I. The society believed these items were morally corrupting. The satire is heavy-handed: the text ironically endorses the society's logic, then extends it absurdly—suggesting soldiers shouldn't be allowed near enemy guns (lest they be targets) and that trench warfare should be discontinued because it's "soggy and sticky." The cartoon depicts "Private Jones" joining female soldiers at what appears to be a military encampment, sarcastically illustrating how removing "vices" misses the actual horrors of war. The sidebar joke from "Sister Sue" mocks a character named Bob for spreading romantic attention across multiple girls, suggesting he should focus on fewer—a lighthearted jab at wartime romantic entanglements. The core message: removing minor comforts from soldiers while ignoring war's genuine dangers is foolish moralizing.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PRIVATE JONES JOINS HER REGIMENT More of the Horrors of War OW that the Christian Endeavor Society has decreed that cigarettes and playing cards shall be left out of the comfort bags that are being prepared for our soldier boys, it would seem as though warfare is to be longer may a soothing puff of Milady taut nerves before the charge, no long cotine steady a pack of cards help to pass weary hours of waiting for God knows what. Truly the horrors of war are on the increase. And in line with this, dear brethren, it occurs that our boys should not be allowed to get within range of the enemy's guns, lest they be made targets of. And trench warfare is so soggy and sticky; really, it should be dis- continued, since we have entered the war. Think what might be done in these directions by a little Even the slaughter might be done Then we should have war for war's ‘mined effort! with in time. Why don't you sober down, Bob, and SSEER SUE: concentrate your affections on just two or three girls? comicbooks'