Life, 1917-12-20 · page 28 of 40
Life — December 20, 1917 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Top Cartoon:** Depicts Germans ("Huns") as savage, barbaric dancers celebrating after killing Red Cross nurses. This is WWI propaganda—the exaggerated caricature and atrocity claim were meant to dehumanize Germans and justify American war effort. Red Cross workers were civilians, making their portrayal as victims especially inflammatory. **The Article:** Defends Colonel S.S. McClure against accusations of disloyalty. He'd been labeled "pro-German" early in WWI for pacifist views, but now supports the war effort and has family members serving. The article rehabilitates his reputation after *Life* itself had previously grouped him with supposed Kaiser-sympathizers (Senator La Follette, etc.). **Historical Context:** This reflects 1917-1918 American WWI fervor, when pacifism or early war skepticism could trigger loyalty questions. The propaganda cartoon exemplifies how wartime media demonized enemies through crude racial caricatures and atrocity narratives—methods modern readers recognize as manipulative.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WAR DANCE OF HUNS AFTER THE SLAUGHTER OF THREE RED CROSS NURSES DECORATIVE PANEL FOR A PRUSSIAN SCHOOL ROOM Mr. McClure Is Loyal N Associated Press despatch from he will speak November 22d. After Raleigh, N. C., dated November last night's address, the Literary 2oth, read as follows: After satisfactorily explaining charges impugning his loyalty in the war, Col. S. S. McClure, whose lec- ture on “Obstacles to Peace” was banned from the University of North Carolina recently, addressed the North Carolina Literary and His- torical Association here last night. He was introduced by Governor Bicket, and for an hour and a half he arraigned Germany and Ger- man atrocities in France and Bel- gium based on information gathered in his travels there. The address followed a conference in the Governor's office, when James E. Pou, a prominent attorney and brother of a North Carolina repre- sentative in Congress, reiterated statements questioning Colonel Me- Clure’s loyalty. Colonel McClure ex- plained the allegations so satisfac- torily that he not only was invited to address the association, but the University of North Carolina, where Association by resolution thanked him and regretted that his patriotism had been attacked. Early in the war Mr. McClure got the name of holding pro-German, ultra-pacifist, or similarly reprehensible, views, and the impression has long out- lasted its facts. Sad to say, as lately as September 2oth there was a picture in Lire in which Mr. McClure in- cluded along with Hearst, La Follette, Reed, Vardaman and Gronna as an American who was helping the Kaiser. That picture did him injustice. er since he went to Europe with the Ford pilgrims and stayed on and_ investi- gated matters, Mr. McClure has been convinced that Germany must be beaten. So one may discover by read- ing his book, “Obstacles to Peace,” which contains the record of his in- vestigations of German doings, and is advertised as “the most tell- ing indictment of Prussianism yet written, because the least biased.” Since our Uncle Sam got into the war Mr. McClure has been his loyal backer. He has a son, an adopted son and a daughter in the service. MIS EFFORTS WERE UNTIRING comicbooks.