Life — March 21, 1918 — page 19: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes American treatment of interned enemy aliens during wartime (likely WWI or WWII, based on style). The drawing depicts Uncle Sam's "club" for detained foreigners—a crowded room where officials manage internees with bureaucratic excess: visible documents include "Secret Code," "Army Plans," "Secret Information," and "Rhine Wine List." The satire's point: despite good intentions ("make the poor fellows happy"), the government creates absurdly elaborate procedures and luxuries for prisoners while drowning them in red tape and secrecy protocols. The crowded, chaotic scene with officials fussing over details mocks the disconnect between claimed hospitality and actual imprisonment. The caption's ironic tone suggests Americans protest too much about fair treatment.