Life, 1917-11-15 · page 10 of 40
Life — November 15, 1917 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes WWI-era "peace talk" propaganda. The text argues that newspapers exaggerate peace rumors, citing sensational headlines about German surrender and Allied victories. The author contends that only Germans, pro-Germans, Pacifists, and Socialists actually want a German-negotiated peace—implying such desire is unpatriotic. The cartoons illustrate this theme: - "Time Will Tell" shows a figure watching their reflection, suggesting patience will reveal truth - "Farmer: It's No Use, Young Feller—Them Things Can't Jump" depicts rural skepticism about peace prospects - "Militant Suffragette" portrays a woman dismissing German sympathizers as traitors, equating pacifism with supporting the enemy The page reflects American pro-war sentiment and suspicion of peace advocates during WWI.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
782 *LIFE® Peace Talk (pues E seems to be an unnecessary expenditure of cur- rent newspaper energy against peace talk. Most of the peace talk is based on persuasion that the Germans are about done, which in turn is based on what people read in the newspapers. For example, the torial on October 25th, ning Sun, in an impassioned edi- that military barbarism must be forced over the edge of destruction, and to talk of peace before that is done is “to be an apostate to democracy, a traitor to humanity, a herald of calamity” and other bad things. “Peace talk now is German talk,” it says, and prints next day in headlines on its front page, “ No Hope of Victory in Kaiser’s Army aig Holds His Lines in Desperate Fightin; “French Took 8000 Germans on Aisne,” “ Michaelis’ Fate Before the Kaiser, Millions Poured into Liberty Bond Loan.” It is headlines like these and the accompanying infor- mation that make innocent readers think peace is coming. The way to stop the ¢ talk is to put out a different line of information under such headlines as “ British Pretty Much Alt In.” “Little F Left Now in the French,” “ Heavy Losses by Submarines in October,” “ Russians on the Run and Going Barefoot.” “Deep Anxiety About Five Amer- ican Transports.” It is easy enough to stop peace talk if you go about it right. Everybody wants peace, but nobody but Germans, pro-Germans, Pacifists and some Socialists wants a German TIME WILL TELL Farmer: 1's NO USE, YOUNG FELLER—THEM THINGS CAN'T JUMP peace. The rest of the people want a peace that will be some good, and until the Italian reverse the front-page news and headlines made them think it was coming. Re-Hearst HE Hearst shall be last, and the last shall be Hearst. Hearst in war, Hearst in peace, Hearst in the hearts of his countrymen, Let him who is without sin among you be the Hearst to cast a stone. eee Militant Suffragette: 15 11 RIGHT FOR ME TO BE CLASSED WITH CHILDREN, IDIOTS, CHINESE AND FELONS “NO, MADAM—WITH SLACKERS, ODSTRUCTIONISTS, PRO- GERMANS AND TRAITOKS,