Life, 1917-09-06 · page 4 of 40
Life — September 6, 1917 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon depicts **Uncle Sam** (personified America) observing masses of soldiers marching into clouds above, saying "Lo, this was my dream, and it has come to pass." The accompanying text discusses Life magazine's distribution to soldiers at the front, praising their business office's efficiency despite criticizing their coupon subscription methods. The author expresses hope the B.O. (business office) is "honest" while acknowledging they collect "real money." **The satire**: Uncle Sam's dream of military might has materialized as soldiers march forward. The text's backhanded compliments about the B.O.—praising efficiency while doubting integrity—satirize both corporate bureaucracy and wartime profiteering. The passage suggests tension between patriotic sentiment and commercial self-interest during what appears to be a World War I-era publication.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Uncle Sam: Lo, this was my dream, and it has come to pass. OW the only remaining thing to be done is to see that all of these boys are regularly supplied with copies of Lire. A great many of them, in their haste to get to the front, neglected to become regular subscribers. The total supply of Lires for the coming year is under the complete control of our business office. | However much we may deprecate the methods of our B. O., especially in insisting upon putting the atrocious coupon each week in the corner of this otherwise attractive page, we must say that they manage to distribute Lire fairly well. They distribute a limited number of copies each week to the newsdealers. Enclosed They fill orders for subscriptions promptly, if the money is 7 ve ¢ Dol: sent with the order. Although we have never had any personal dealings with the B. O., we hope and believe they are honest. We would send this paper free to everyone, if we could. But we understand the B. O. collects real money. It seems a great shame. Note: The amount of money you have to spend Open. 01 to new subscribers; no suly to become a joyful subscriber is accurately set scriptions renewed at this rate. forth in the coupon. But if you pay 10 cents for a single copy, just put a stamp on it and drop it MS 7 LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York 6 in the P. O. when you have finished it. It will u 7 reach a soldier somewhere. (See notice on cover.) 7 7 One Year, $5.00. (Canadian, $5.52; Foreign, $6.04.) 7