Life, 1918-01-31 · page 11 of 40
Life — January 31, 1918 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Main Illustration:** A WWI-era scene showing soldiers in military uniforms speaking with a woman at what appears to be a desk or counter. The caption reads: "Corporal: WHAT WILL YOU DO AFTER THE WAR IF YOU CAN'T GET YOUR OLD JOB BACK? Private: MARRY THE GIRL WHO'S HOLDING IT DOWN." **Context:** This satirizes post-war employment anxieties. During WWI, women entered the workforce replacing enlisted men. The joke reflects contemporary concern that returning soldiers would face job competition from women who'd proven capable in traditionally male positions. The "solution" of marriage was a common contemporary presumption that women would leave jobs upon marrying. **Other Content:** The page also includes a poem "A Dug-Out in Winter" by Charlotte Becker about trench conditions, and an article critiquing irresponsible book cover design.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
tii] TM et Corporal: WHAT WILL YOU DO AFTER THE WAR IF YOU CAN'T GET YOUR OLD Jon BACK? Private: MARRY THE GIRL WHO'S HOLDING IT DOWN. A Dug-Out in Winter Those Irresponsible Book Covers l™ glad my kid don't’ave to ‘ear that shell; HY do publishers insist upon issuing books with those Loud noises frights ‘im awful.” “Did ye know half paper covers, the name of the book printed upon Big Tim went off ‘is ead, an’ babbled so them? They are a delusion and a snare—too good to throw They've shut ‘im up?” “TfL come through this ‘ell away without a qualm of conscience, and constantly slip- There'll be more things I'll ‘ide than them I'll tell!” ping off when one is reading. Either a book should have “Back ‘ome I dug a trench for beans to grow; no cover at all or one that is properly made to fasten itself They bloomed scarlet blood, spilled row on row, upon the book so that the reader will not have it in mind, The day I left—that day my brother fell.” “My bunky went to lay a mine last night; *E ain't come back, an’ I'm afeared 'e’s tock.” “I'm ‘ungerin’ for one big open fight, Where I can learn 'ow Boches really look.” “There's day on day when all my ‘ighest ‘ope Is just to 'ave a cake 0° good ole soap!” Charlotte Becker. “LIERE'S an office seeker without foresight, imagina- tion or any other qual , but with a strong political pull, What'll we do with him?” “That's easy; make him chairman of the board that passes on new military and naval inventions.” HOW TO LIVE ON THIRTEEN CENTS A DAY comicbooks.com