Life, 1917-11-22 · page 30 of 44
Life — November 22, 1917 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This *Life* magazine page satirizes American life during World War I (evidenced by references to "liberty loan" and German trenches). The main poem "Taxes" mocks government taxation of everyday items—calendars, cigarettes, taxi fares, movie seats, wireless messages—while pointedly noting that **legislators exempt their own salaries** from taxation. The satire's target: hypocrisy of those in power. The cartoon "Life in the German Trenches" offers dark humor about wartime hardship, showing soldiers saying they'll "get together to keep warm"—gallows humor about shared misery. "Dogloology" presents dog sayings as philosophical wisdom, likely offering gentle comic relief amid war news. "Good for the Plattsburgers!" praises a military officers' training camp for exceeding fundraising goals for the Liberty Loan (war bonds). Overall, the page balances satirical criticism of government taxation policy with patriotic support for the war effort—a typical *Life* magazine blend of irreverent social commentary and wartime solidarity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
842 Taxes TH government has laid a tax— (We'll pay it?—How polite of us!) On everything behind our backs And everything in sight of us: The calendar, the paperweight, The table with the lamp on it— You'll know a thing is out-of-date That hasn't got a stamp on it, They've taxed our cigarettes and such, And all our drinks delectable! (But then, you know, you smoke too much, And thirst is not respectable.) I hear they've taxed our taxi-fares, Those taxi-persons tireless, Our movie seats, our Pullman chairs, Our messages by wireless, The stuff with which our floors are waxed, Our proteins and calories; But, glory be !—they haven't taxed Our legislators’ salaries! arthur Guiterman. “ees war will eventually bring us all together.” “Yes. We'll all have to get together to keep warm.” LIFE IN THE GERMAN TRENCHES nie Patety Tismeran d HA “THE RACE IS NOT ALWAYS TO THE SWIFT” OGS will be dogs. They also serve who only watch at night and bark. 'Tis better to have loved a dog than never to have loved at all A little battle now and then is rel- ished by the best of dogs Hell hath no fury like an angered bulldog. F Jog, all roads lead home Bark and the whole neighborhood barks with you; hide and you hide alone. Dogs should be trained but not hurt. A buried bone is a joy forever. Fidelity, thy name is Fido Edmund J. Kiefer. Good for the Plattsburgers! HE Plattsburg training camp for officers took $1,750,000 of the sec- ond liberty loan. It only hoped originally to take $347,- ooo, but made a big extra effort, in the belief that it would help the great cause by showing civilian subscribers how to. go over the top. The Triumph of Imagination OYS will be—pirates, cowboys, gen- crals, prize fighters, lovers, gun- men, speed kings, pitchers in the World Series, highwaymen, submarine opera- tors, crusaders, fire-fighters, Charlie Chaplins, aviators, Indians, railway en- gincers, and just plain boys. comicbookssser