Life, 1917-08-23 · page 23 of 40
Life — August 23, 1917 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Image:** A domestic comedy strip ("The Willowbys' Ward, 12") showing a professor managing pets during a house move—appears unrelated to the text below. **Main Content:** An anti-vaccination satire titled "U.S. Take Notice." The author argues that Britain's exemption of military forces from mandatory vaccination proved vaccination useless, citing a smallpox outbreak in vaccinated Germany. The piece sarcastically suggests America should stop "pumping poison into our own boys," mocking both anti-vaccination activists and those who granted military exemptions. **Context:** This reflects early 20th-century anti-vaccination sentiment in Britain (the Union for Abolition of Vivisection also opposed vaccination) and uses Germany's disease outbreak as "proof" vaccination fails—a misunderstanding of vaccination's actual effectiveness. **Bottom Item:** "Not Quite"—a brief joke about prohibition, suggesting prohibitionists will remain despite restrictions, likely referencing Prohibition-era debates. The page satirizes anti-vaccination pseudoscience while commenting on contemporary health and social policy controversies.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WILLOWBYS' WARD. 12 DURING THE MOVE TO THE NEW HOUSE THE PROFESSOR UNDERTAKES THE CARE OF MOLLY'S PETS U. S., Take Notice ERE'S something from 1. ng Tissue that ought to be of value to Uncle Sam: Well may the British Union for Abolition of Vivi- section and its powerful organ, The Abolitionist, con- gratulate themselves on their hard-won triumph in the exemption of all military forces from compulsion in regard to vaccination, The uselessness of this process has been proved again by the severe outbreak of smallpox in well vaccinated Germany. Concession after concession on army typhoid inoculation was wrung from the British War Office; unrestricted leave, often withheld a means of brin; to bear, was finally 4 thanks to the Abolitionist’s axitation. ny pressure ted to uninoculated men,— There's an idea for us, Why not stop pumping poison into our own boys? Not Quite 2 that we are not going to have absolute prohibi- TOMMY MAKES THE MISTAKE OF LETTING BABY HOLD HIS “No. The prohibitionists will be permitted to remain.” KITE WHILE HE GOES FOR MORE STRING comicbooks.com