Life, 1918-02-28 · page 25 of 40
Life — February 28, 1918 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon - "The Willowbys' Ward":** Shows a military officer sternly reprimanding a young woman (Molly) in front of soldiers for taking unauthorized photographs. The satire critiques rigid military regulations and the harsh treatment of minor infractions—the severe punishment for merely taking snapshots suggests military bureaucracy is absurdly inflexible. **Main Article - "Why Clergymen Often Appear Contemplative":** By Kenneth L. Roberts, this piece satirizes the impossible social position of clergymen. They face contradictory expectations: if they pray much, they're "wind-bags"; if little, "insincere." Whether they visit wealthy parishioners or don't, whether married or unmarried, whether comfortable or struggling financially—all invite criticism. The humor lies in cataloging these logical impossibilities, suggesting the clergy cannot win regardless of their choices. **Bottom Panel:** A brief joke about a surgeon successfully operating on a banker—the surgeon "got what he was operating for," implying corruption (the surgeon's real goal was financial gain rather than medical care).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WILLOWBYS' WARD. MOLLY, WHO HAS BEEN TAKING SNAPSHOTS CONTRARY TO REGULATIONS, IS GIVEN A SEVERE REPRIMAND a Why Clergymen Often Appear Contemplative HE clergyman is a soul-saver who, looking at the matter from the viewpoint of salary, is expected to save souls on an average basis of about three cents apiece, 5 thus putting souls in the same class with yeast-cakes and sour oranges. He is a chip of the old block on a sea of restrictions; and he usually finds the going somewhat rough. If he prays too much, he is a wind-bag; if he prays too little, he is insincere. If his sermons tell the truth about things at home, he is a Quixotic ass; if they general- ize on remote matters, he is a milksop. If he calls too frequently on wealthy parishioners, he is a toady; if he doesn’t call on them often enough, he is too proud. Ti he is unmarried, he is a fortune-hunter; if he is married, he is uninteresting. If he lives comfortably on his salary, there is something queer about him; if he doesn’t, there is something queer about him. Anybody who can be a : THE OPERATION ON THE BANKER, BROWN, WAS SUCCESS- clergyman and please everyone is almost too good to be put. THAT Is, THE EMINENT SURGEON COT WHAT HE WAS true. Kenneth L. Roberts. OPERATING FOR. comicbooks.com