Life, 1918-02-21 · page 10 of 40
Life — February 21, 1918 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes President Wilson (identified in the caption) as a naive figure being manipulated by militarists. The image shows Wilson at a table with what appear to be military or political figures examining a machine labeled "War Dept." The caption "Don't Criticize" suggests suppression of dissent. The article discusses whether military preparation actually prevents war. It references General Freytag's argument that German armament secured peace for forty years, while questioning whether such preparation truly deters conflict or merely enables it. The satire targets Wilson's stated pacifism against pressure from warmongers ("skinning the war cat" = exploiting war ambitions). This reflects pre-WWI American debate over neutrality, preparedness, and whether arming encourages rather than prevents warfare.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Presideut Wilson 1 REGARD HIM AS ONE OF THE ABLEST PUBLIC OFFICIALS I HAVE EVER KNOWN Who Is This? HERE is a rumor that an anon mous person who has been fur- nishing the New York Times with pro- tracted articles about the future of the United States has advocated the an- nexation by these States of Canada and the West Indies. The rumor cannot he verified except hy going through these weary pieces, which is a heavier job than the result would warrant. But probably it is true, for some good people have been dis- turbed by the suggestion. If Editor Miller should see fit to print the name of the anonymous con- tributor to whom he has accorded so much hospitality, the articles would probably be sufficiently explained to allay all anxiety. A Mild Correction “THE last I remember,” groaned the anarchist with the foreign accent, “T was standing on a street corner, telling some fellows that this was a rich man’s war. What happened? “You were all but murdered,” grinned the ambulance surgeon, “by a million- aire who had just paid his war taxes.” Skinning the War Cat 'HE San Francisco Argonaut being a member in good standing of the Carnal party, it is something of a sur- prise to have it say (apropos of inter- national organization as the alternative of universal armament) that “ prepara- tion for war is the surest possible means of bringing about future conten- tions and future wars.” So it but the Resolutes usually argue that it is the only means by which considerable periods of peace can be obtained. German General Frey tag, third in rank in the German army says in his recent book belauding war and the German attachment to it, that German military preparation and arma- ment, “though defective in some re- spects,” none the less secured peace for Germany for forty years, “a length of time such as hardly ever before has been experienced in the world’s history in the case of a great country.” Tt may be that both these doctors are right; Freytag when he says that vigor- preparation for war is the way to gain long intervals of peace: the -tr- gonaut when it says that armament leads to war. The idea of international organizatioti is to continue a sufficient oO war preparation to insure peace, hut to spend it all on an international police force, and so avoid inviting war. Prussia would not like that. Of course not. It would restrict and per- haps abolish her chief industry, which is war, Freytag says pacifist hopes can only be realized by a spiritual transforma- tion of the human race, which looks to him far off. And probably it is. But that failing, the alternative to interna- tional organization is pretty grim. It is to go on having such wars as this one now prevalent until Earth becomes a scrap-heap. HE French Revolution settled with the nobles. The Russian revolution may: settle with the Utopians. TTENDANT: This is a sad case, sir, Visitor: Shell shock? “No. Ordnance Department.”