Life, 1918-03-21 · page 20 of 56
Life — March 21, 1918 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This WWI-era page contains multiple satirical pieces: **"Over-Confidence" Cartoon**: A German spy, confident Americans are too stupid to suspect him, walks openly past an Army-Navy Secret Archives office while civilians observe. The satire mocks German arrogance and warns against careless security during wartime. **"Notes on Food"**: Advocates home food conservation to support troops, criticizing wasteful eating habits. It satirizes both excessive sugar rationing at hotels and the ineffectiveness of designated "meatless days." **"Appreciated"**: A brief joke crediting Mr. Baker (likely a public figure) with accomplishments, while implying Mr. McAdoo accomplishes nothing—political mockery of a contemporary official. **"Never Complain"**: Warns against gossiping, using the metaphor of a leaky pail—blaming the gossiper, not the listener, for leaked secrets. **"For the Well Dressed Man"**: Fashion satire describing absurd wartime "outfits" combining rationed materials (seersucker, tar-paper) with practical items (gas masks, shelter-tents), mocking fashion industry adaptation to wartime shortages. The page reflects American WWI concerns: security, rationing, and civic responsibility.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
pas rz a oS SECRET ARCHIVES German Spy OVER-CONFIDENCE ACH! BUT DOSE AMERICANS ARE SUCH STUPID BLOCKHEADS NOT ONE OF THEM WOULD EVER SUSPECT ME Notes on Food HE kitchen is mightier than the trench. The proper way to keep ourselves in condition and still win the war would be to live on what we have hitherto wasted and send the rest to the boys at the front. We would then have plenty. There is no sense in having one wheatless or meatless day a week in a family, because those days might be the ones in which meat and crusts are left over and can be most economically used. But in every family every day should be a stufiless day Far be it from us to assert that the wonderful enthusiasm displayed by some city hotels in being stingy with lumps of sugar is due to the fact that sugar has never been charged for. Appreciated R. BAKER now does everything except what Mr. Mc- Adoo does. One of them should be credited with that nice thaw the second week in February NEVER complain that your confidence has been betrayed. The fault is yours for pouring unsafe talk into a leaky mind. You do not blame a leaky pail for leaking. Blame yourself for not knowing it leaked. AND $0 EASY TO FOOL. FOR THE WELL DRESSED MAN “L’Appetite” restaurant suit of linsey-woolsey, with bib of seersucker. The trousers are Hooverized satin. Combination motor coat and shelter-tent. The gas mask is detachable, and the coat is imported tar-paper,