Life, 1918-03-14 · page 6 of 40
Life — March 14, 1918 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This WWI-era cartoon satirizes working-class fathers trying to impress their sons. An older man (likely a fortune teller) reads the fortunes of young boys in military uniforms, who boast about their fathers' accomplishments. The joke targets class anxiety: one boy claims his father "owns everything" and is worth "a million dollars," while another insists his father is "a king." The punchline suggests these boys lack genuine accomplishment to be proud of, so they invent inflated parental achievements. The cartoon critiques both paternal boasting and childhood materialism during wartime. The character "Velvet Joe" (possibly a recurring LIFE figure) delivers the moral: real valor comes from having a father who "fought Over There"—a soldier in WWI—the only achievement worthy of genuine pride.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A DADDY HE CAN BRAG ABOUT Now, all you boys in olive drab, Come smoke a good luck pipe with me, IM read your fortune in the smoke An’ tell you all the things J see. J see three kiddies, plain as day — One says’My pa owns everything, A million million dollars, too.” The other says "My pa’s a king.” An' then the littlest kid ofall _ Swells up until his buttons tear — Shucks, they ain't in it with my dad! Why, fellers, he fought Quer There!” Heres luck, you bays in olive drab, Good fortune bring you safely out And give some littlest kid some day A daddy he can brag about. Uhoel for