Life, 1917-12-06 · page 60 of 92
Life — December 6, 1917 — page 60: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Main Story: "The Ghost of the Future"** This allegorical tale depicts a fallen German Emperor visited by the personified "Ghost of War." The emperor, once powerful, is now dejected and powerless. War—itself banished from earth after being weaponized by the emperor's ambitions—returns to haunt him. The moral: the emperor's selfish use of war destroyed both nations and the institution itself. This appears to be post-WWI commentary on Kaiser Wilhelm II's downfall, presenting war as a corrupted tool that ultimately consumed its user. **Bottom Cartoon: "With the Audience Knitting, Why Shouldn't the Performers?"** Four vignettes satirize audience inattention during performances (play, concert, sermon, opera). The joke: if audiences knit during shows, performers should be equally casual/distracted. It mocks both audience rudeness and theatrical pretension during the period. **"Santa's Little Joke"** Brief caption referencing "Mr. Roche"—context unclear without additional information.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SANTA'S LITTLE JOKE “MERRY CHRISTMAS TO MR, ROCHE The Ghost of the Future HE man sat alone, dejected, an outcast. On a table at his side lay a rusted and broken sword. His trembling s toyed with a battered crown. “Cheer up, comrade,” spoke a hollow voice from the emptiness of a nearby corner. “T, too, am an outcast; yet once I was greater than you. You ruled the destiny of but a single nation. T ruled the destiny of all. I was loved by the mighty and feared by the weak. I made and remade the maps of the world; built and wrecked thrones IT was the final court of all peoples, and looked upon as a finge necessary institution until, alas! my best friend betrayed me. In his madness for power he made of me so brutal and heartless a thing that I was forever banished from the earth. And now, brother in who are you?” The man shook his head sadly, and in a tearful voice replied : Nobody now. Once I was the German Emperor. “Hal! ha!” mocked the dismal voice in triumph. are the man I seek. In an effort to further your selfish ambitions you destroyed me, and I have come back to haunt rr rr you. Iam the ghost of war.” “You Vane € Aerraten THE PLAY THE CONCERT THE SERMON THE OPERA WITH THE AUDIENCE KNITTING, WILY SHOULDN'T THE PERFORMERS? comicbook seem)