Life, 1918-03-14 · page 28 of 40
Life — March 14, 1918 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon:** "The Willowbys' Ward" depicts a domestic scene where a cat named Peter has taken over the professor's bedroom, with a woman (Molly) observing. This appears to be a humorous domestic comic strip installment unrelated to the political content below. **The Political Content:** Two articles address World War I-era issues: 1. **"The Yellow-Blooded Castilian"** satirizes Spain's supposed neutrality while favoring Germany. The author criticizes Spain for allowing German submarines to operate, delaying supplies to American troops in France, and accepting German propaganda and bribes—all while claiming neutrality. The phrase "yellow-blooded" suggests cowardice, mocking Spain's failure to maintain its proud reputation. Germany allegedly promises Spain Gibraltar and Mexico territorial gains as incentive. 2. **"Has Mr. Taft Been Shut Up?"** defends former President William Howard Taft against claims he was silenced by the administration, noting he actively campaigned supporting the war effort. Both pieces reflect American frustration with wavering allies and domestic political divisions during WWI.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WILLOWBYS' WARD. 4 MOLLY’S NEW CAT, WHICH SHE HAS CHRISTENED PETER, COMMANDEERS THE PROFESSOR'S BEDROOM The Yellow-Blooded Castilian HE proud and haughty Spaniard, whose blood is popu- larly supposed to boil and sizzle fiercely at the merest suggestion of an affront, has spent the past two years in licking the boots of Germany. energetically by German submarines, and Spanish honor is satisfied by form-letter No. 18—a purely perfunctory apology. Supplies for our troops in France are mysteri- ously delayed in transit across Spain; German propaganda and hush-money are to he found in windows in every cor- ner of Alphonso’s kingdom; Spanish officials are quick to imprison any person who dares utter an anti-German senti- ment. Spanish shipping is sunk is the reason? The Germans are excellent promis- are ready to promise New Mexico and Texas to Mexico if she would fight us. One doesn't need much in- sight to realize that Spain has been promised Gibraltar if she will remain un-neutrally neutral. Is the old, hot blue blood of Spain getting colder and yellower day by day? KOLB. Has Mr. Taft Been Shut Up? Mr, Taft has not been permitted by the administra- tion to render any service for the government in this war.—Boston Transcript. HAT was done to Mr. t? Was he interned, or merely put under bonds? To anyone reading in the newspaper that he was con- stantly traveling about, making speeches in support of the ar and incidentally supporting the administration with a minimum of criticism, it has seemed as though he was rendering constant service both to the country and the government. Must have been all a mistake, since the Transcript has not heard of it. AWYER: plead guilty or not. Prisoner: Why not? “Well, it depends upon circumstances.” “Well, what I would like to know, just for my own curi- osity, is whether 1 committed the crime or not.” I can't tell just now whether you should