Life, 1918-03-21 · page 22 of 56
Life — March 21, 1918 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This WWI-era satirical page contains two distinct pieces: **"Women and Talk"** critiques Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels' attempts to prevent naval officers' wives from publicly discussing their husbands' whereabouts. The accompanying cartoon shows a fashionably dressed woman in a short skirt speaking to a small boy, satirizing concerns about women's indiscretion during wartime. The article argues that while wives should avoid revealing military information to potential enemies, women's natural tendency to discuss their husbands makes strict secrecy unrealistic. The satire suggests the policy addresses a genuine security risk but acknowledges human nature—particularly women's supposed chattiness—makes enforcement difficult. **"'Life' and Public Health"** praises *Life* magazine's strong anti-German stance during the war, then criticizes its editorial skepticism toward smallpox vaccination. The piece suggests *Life* conflates anti-vaccination sentiment with fanaticism rather than acknowledging legitimate public-health concerns, sardonically praising only *Life's* "pleasant, opening words" of patriotic support.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“GRACIOUS, LITTLE BOY! AREN'T YOU AFRAID YOU'L COLD WITH YOUR LEGS EXPOSED THAT WAY Women and Talk 'HE efforts made by Secretary Daniels to keep naval ladies from talking about their husbands are to be com- mended, but will they succeed? To all married women the whereabouts of their husbands is always a matter for con- cern and for comparison. When husbands are engaged in the patriotic business of fighting for their country, their wives should be discreet in their endeavors to locate them too publicly ; a few words might easily be enough to convey important information to an alert enemy. The flight of a deadly torpedo might be the result of an idle remark dropped by a woman at a Washington dinner party. The only time a woman is likely to remain silent about her husband is when he is in bad company. When she gets him home alone she may wallop him well, but she will rarely advertise him, CATCH ‘LIFE: A VERY WORLDLY MEMBER OF HIS CON! SERMONS SO MUCH. “Life” and Public Health HE Public Health Journal of Toronto says: The attitude of New York Lire on the war has been one to inspire the admiration and respect of all Canadians. A constant and consistent hatred and criticism of the ideals of the Hun as well as a fear- less advocacy of the cause which the Anglo-Saxons and their Allies hold dear has been an inspiration to lovers of democracy the world over. For those words, our sincere thanks Our friend also says: It is with the regret with which one finds fault with a friend, then, that we find it necessary to criticize. Unfortunately, Lrre’s fault is so blatant that people interested in public health have avoided reference to it only because of the other sterling qualities which Live exhibits. The value of small-pox vaccination is established except in the minds of persons who are either poorly educated or fanatics. Again, thanks. But if the choice is given us between those two things, “poorly educated” or “ fanati we prefer “ fanatic: Fanatic and crank are closely related, and Lire has always taken a certain pride in being a crank. However, it is our friend’s opening words that we persist in remembering. Just like us, to remember only those pleasant, opening words. ENTLEMAN WAS ALWAYS A LITT! GRE UZZLED AS TO WHY GATION ENJOYED HIS