Life, 1918-01-03 · page 26 of 40
Life — January 3, 1918 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes Herbert Hoover's food policies during what appears to be WWI-era rationing or the early Depression. The top cartoon shows a man on a horse labeled with years (1918, 1917), captioned "Keep your feet in the stirrups, sonny"—suggesting Hoover's grip on the nation's food supply. Below, "Scripture for Hoover" mocks his administration by stringing together Biblical verses about food scarcity, hunger, and deprivation—implying his policies force Americans to endure biblical-level hardship. The bottom illustration depicts "The Vegetarian Café" introducing entertainment ("cabaret") to distract customers from eating "pruneless meals"—a joke about wartime food rationing and substitutes. The satire suggests the government offers cultural distractions rather than actual nutrition. The overall message: Hoover's food management leaves Americans hungry, quoting Scripture to justify deprivation while offering only entertainment as compensation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Scripture for Hoover “TAh= unto thee all food that is eaten, and thou shalt gather it to And Jet them gather all the food 2. and Jay up corn."—Genesis, Take food jor the famine of your households."—Genesis, 42:33 “Much food is in the tillage of the poor: but there is that is destroyed fc Proverbs, 13 d convenient for of judgment me with me.” Proverbs, 30 “T h, ordinary food.” wan ¢ diminished thine el, 16:27, that eateth any “Cursed be the food.”—I Samuel, 14 “Tn sorrow shalt thou eat."—Genesis, 3:7. “My sighing cometh before T eat." Job, 3:24. “And he that doubteth is damned if he cat.”—Romans, 14:23 “Bread eaten in secret is pleasant.” —Proverbs, 9 Harold Seton, “ Keep your feet in the stirrups, sonny THE VEGETARIAN CAFE INTRODUCES A CABARET TO RECONCILE ITS CUSTOMEKS TO THE PRUNELESS MEAL