Life, 1917-10-25 · page 27 of 44
Life — October 25, 1917 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon satirizes German diplomats' contempt for Americans. It depicts three tall, uniformed German military officers being observed by shorter American civilians. The caption—with exaggerated German accents ("goot lookers," "ikey," "vot")—has Germans dismissively calling Americans "Ameriguns" (a mocking pronunciation). The accompanying text references Captain Franz von Papen and Count Luxburg, actual German diplomats who publicly insulted American leadership during World War I, calling Americans "idiotic Yankees" and "notorious." Life's satire inverts their criticism: the Prussians, who fancy themselves psychologists of human nature, are themselves the real fools—a reference to Shakespeare's observation that fools believe themselves wise. The "Vocal Treasure" section makes a patriotic pun: while money talks, Liberty Bonds (WWI fundraising instruments) "sing" the national anthem, encouraging American financial support for the war effort. This page reflects American wartime sentiment mocking German arrogance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ PRETTY GOOT LOOKERS—EN, IKEY? VOT ARE THEY?” “ AMERIGUNS.” Fools APTAIN FRANZ VON PAPEN, that charming Prus- sian gentleman, referred to his hosts as “idiotic Yankees.” “ Bloedsinnig” was the word he used. Count Luxburg, that other delightful Prussian, spoke of the for- cign minister of the nation which safeguarded him within its borders as “a notorious ass.” The Prussians are great psychologists in their own minds, They study other peo- ple’s souls with great vigor; and they invariably discover that the other people are fools. It was the late Mr. Shake- speare who first postulated the theory that the fool doth think he i: se. If his theory holds water, the Prussians would easily capture all the blue ribbons at a fool show. Vocal Treasure KNicker: Money talks. Bocker: And a Liberty Bond sings “The Star- Spangled Banner.” THE FIRST STRAPHANGER comicbooks.com