Life, 1917-10-25 · page 31 of 44
Life — October 25, 1917 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page mixes political satire with advertising, circa World War I era. **"How Doth the Little Busy Hun"** is a virulent anti-German poem (by Kenneth L. Roberts) parodying the nursery rhyme "How Doth the Little Busy Bee." "Hun" was American WWI propaganda slur for Germans. The poem accuses Germans of moral corruption and exploitation, concluding with a call to kill them—reflecting intense wartime hostility. **The "American Father/Mother" cartoon** appears to satirize rapid, casual marriages, with the mother casually mentioning her daughter "stepped out to get married." **The Nero cartoon** mocks apathy about crime, suggesting people are indifferent ("pitch dark") to serious problems. **"Better Times Coming"** and **"One Hope"** sections discuss New York politics and steel prices—likely commentary on post-war economic hopes. The **Edison Mazda Lamps advertisement** dominates the right side, promoting electrical efficiency. The page reflects American society during or immediately after WWI, combining jingoistic war sentiment with consumer advertising and local political commentary.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
How Doth the Little Busy Hun OW doth the little busy Hun Improve each passing day By striving to debauch each one He meets upon his way. How skilfully he picks his tools! How carelessly he spends! And labors hard to make these fools Work only to his ends. In works of labor or of skill I would be busy too: For instance, I should love to kill This busy Hunnish crew. Kenneth L. Roberts. NDER Mayor Mitchel and the present police ad stration in New York the white-slave trade has been a down-trodden industry. Many plants, long idle, expect to open up again after the first of the year, if Tammany and Hylan win out at the polls, One Hope Steel is going up. Good. Maybe they will be obliged to cut down the number of pins in a laundered shir: MERICAN FATHER: Where is Bessie? AMERICAN Motuer: She'll be back in a few moments. She stepped out to get married. TCH DARK ON THE PORCH 'D BETTER LIGHT A COUPLE OF CHRISTIAN: Electrify the Housework Without Increasing Your Electric Bills UCH of the housework in your home can be electrified without increasing your monthly bills for current. It merely means taking out wasteful carbon lamps and putting in their places the lamps that save for other uses the current the carbons wasted. Edison Mazpa Lamps are three times more efficient. Edison Lamp Works of Gen- eral Electric Company, Harrison, N. J. Conserve Your Electric Current by Making It Do More Work