Life, 1918-02-07 · page 32 of 40
Life — February 7, 1918 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page satirizes WWI-era American attitudes. The top cartoon shows a mounted soldier instructing rookies—typical military recruitment humor. The centerpiece is a poem "Battalions of Death" about Russian women soldiers who fought in WWI, celebrating their patriotism while lamenting that their sacrifice was squandered by traitors pursuing "power and pelf" (wealth)—likely referencing the Russian Revolution's chaos and the Bolshevik seizure of power. The "Patriotic?" section mocks the government's inconsistent messaging: Secretary of the Navy Daniels apparently discouraged knitting socks for soldiers, yet 99-year-old Mrs. Sperry knits anyway. The satire suggests bureaucratic absurdity—the government simultaneously wants civilian support for troops while micromanaging that support. The bottom cartoon's caption about "knees of the gods" remains unclear without fuller context, but appears political commentary on wartime governance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: IN THE SUBWAY Big Workman: s'cust Me, poss, BUT “ON THE CONTRARY, YOU! “THE! FELLER'S.” THEY MUST BE OVEK YOURS AND UNDER TH! NEXT The Battalions of Death RAWN from all ranks of life by one high aim, The women shouldered arms and marched away. From clam’rous towns, from steppes wind-swept and gray, From feudal castles, from ripe fields they came To loose old shackles, clear a race from shame, And hail the dawning of a valiant day When, through undaunted pride and courage, they Might give free Russia a war-cleanséd name. But traitors sprang about them, and their cause Perished in one grim rush for power and pelf, Leaving no creed, no government, no laws, Only a land divided on itself, Where, through the struggle for a nobler gain, God grant their sacrifice be not in vain! Charlotte Becker. Patriotic? RS. LYDIA M. SPERRY, who will be ninety-nine years old on February 23rd, has already knit thirteen pairs of socks, and is working on more. She lives in Alpha, Towa. She believes in doing her bit. Probably this old lady had not heard that Mr. Daniels disapproves of too much knitting for the soldiers. Or per- haps, with everybody else, she disagrees with Mr. Daniels. ON THE KNEES OF THE Gops