Life, 1918-01-10 · page 30 of 40
Life — January 10, 1918 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes institutional corruption and post-WWI attitudes. **Main Article**: Life exposes Connecticut trustees (Samuel J. Miller, Daniel Davenport, Dr. R.W. Lowe) who are withholding funds from Lire's Fresh Air Fund—a children's charity. Per a deceased donor's (Edwin Gilbert's) will, stock dividends worth over $10,000 should support the fund, but trustees refuse to release the money, claiming it will "stay there." Life ridicules their dishonesty by noting a newspaper connected to an influential trustee conveniently protested Life's inquiry. **"How Many Bad Ones Left?"**: A dark joke proposing a post-WWI census of surviving Germans to eliminate "dangerous" ones—reflecting harsh attitudes toward defeated Germany. **"Another Infant Industry"**: A quip about Secretary of the Navy Daniels objecting to women knitting for sailors, suggesting he wanted sailors to knit themselves—satirizing wartime bureaucracy. **Cartoon**: Shows a Food Administration Officer noting "contents" while a portly administrator sits beside him—likely mocking food rationing enforcement.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CONNECTICUT newspaper prints a long howl of protest against Lire’s continued inquiry for the reasons why the trustees named below continue to keep certain moneys away from Lire’s Fresh Air children. One of the trustees is influential in the town where the newspaper is printed, and, if he did not write the article himself, there is internal evidence that he inspired it. It would make in- teresting reading for the Fresh Air children. In the article the statement is made that the money is now in the possession of the trustees’ treasury, “and likely to stay there.” Some men, when they get hold of other persons’ money, seem to have a constitutional aversion to letting go of Far be it from us to make any imputation that these trustees are dishonest. They like to hang on to the children’s money, s in their hands, it is “likely to stay there.” Here are the facts: In his will the late Edwin Gilbert of Redding, Connecticut, left three hundred shares of the stock of the Gilbert Manu- facturing Company with these instructions: “The dividends and income thereof to be used for the maintenance of the work carried on at Lire’s Farm.” The reference is to the work of Lire’s Fresh Air Fund, with which Mr. Gilbert was familiar, and in which he was interested. The stock and accrued money have passed into the hands of Sasvet J. Miter of Georgetown, Connecticut ; Daniet Davenport of Bridgeport, Connecticut ; Dr. R. W. Lowe of Ridgefield, Connecticut, and certain relatives and employees of Mr. MiLteR, as trustees. The “dividends and interest” accrued since December, 1910 now amount to considerably more than ten thousand dollars. The accumulated income is sadly needed for improved sani- tation, fireproofing and increased dormitory space to add to the safety, health and comfort-of the poor children Mr. Gilbert intended to help. Although Live's Fresh Air Fund has re- peatedly requested and demanded that these funds be used as Mr. Gilbert directed, the trustees have not paid over the money. The presumption is that it is still in their hands. Under the laws of Connecticut there is no way to compel them to dis- gorge. How Many Bad Ones Left? psst it almost time now to get Holland or Spain to take a census of the surviving Germans, and see what pro- portion of the bad ones are dead? Eliminate those Germans who have dangerous manias, and the residue, if there is one, will be well worth keeping The object of the war is to eliminate the German in- curables. Whenever that is done sufficiently we can have peace. ANOTHER INFANT INDUSTRY “NYJHY did Secretary Daniels object to women knitting for the sailors?” “Probably because he planned to make the sailors do their own knitting.” FooD ADMINISTRATION OFFICER “CONTENTS NOTED”