Life, 1918-01-10 · page 7 of 40
Life — January 10, 1918 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a title page for an article titled "Differing with the Kaiser." The illustration shows a man in formal dress and top hat standing beside what appears to be a rural schoolhouse, with the caption "As the school bell stops ringing 'Gee Whiz! Late Again!'" The poem by Kenneth L. Roberts that follows expresses anti-German sentiment during what appears to be World War I era. It references "German swords," "Prussian hordes," and "blood-stained swords," while calling for prayers against German threats to the nation. The juxtaposition of an ordinary American scene (late student, rural school) with fierce anti-Kaiser rhetoric suggests the satire: contrasting American innocence and everyday life with the perceived threat posed by Germany's military leadership under Kaiser Wilhelm II.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AS THE SCHOOL BELL STOPS RINGING LATE AGAIN!” “Gee wHiz! Differing with the Kaiser The German sword will regain us the respect cf all the world —The Kaiser. HOUGH German swords should hew a path From pole to frozen pole, Still would the flame of bitter wrath Burn brightly in my soul; And still I'd see the little ghosts OF babes that Prussia slew, And all the countless murdered hosts— And so, pray God, will you! Though every nation sink at last Beneath those blood-stained swords, Still shall I bear in mind the past And loathe the Prussian hordes: Still I'll recall the awful fears They loosed: the earthly hell; And I shall curse them down the years— I pray you will as well, Think you that any threat of steel Can make a nation blind? Think you that tramp of iron heel Can crush a nation’s mind? Although the sabre of the Hun Should pierce me through through, I'd loathe him still for all he'd donce— And so, pray God, would you! Kenneth L. Roberts, and comicbooks.com