Life, 1918-03-28 · page 29 of 40
Life — March 28, 1918 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes **William Jennings Bryan**, the three-time presidential candidate and former Secretary of State who resigned in 1915 over Wilson's handling of German submarine warfare. **The satire's point**: Though Bryan claims his patriotism is unquestionable, Life argues he's using WWI (which America entered in 1917) as a platform for **prohibition**—his actual passion. The cartoon mocks him for treating the war as mere backdrop to his preferred cause, like a carnival's "side shows" overshadowing the main tent. **Key references**: - Bryan's resignation is acknowledged but reframed: he left not from principle but from political calculation - The "meatless day" cartoon references food rationing during wartime - Comparison to La Follette (senator who opposed war entry) distinguishes Bryan's loyalty while criticizing his priorities - The implication: Bryan exploits wartime patriotism to advance prohibition, not vice versa **The joke**: Bryan gets credit for patriotism he doesn't deserve, while his real agenda—prohibition—remains the true driver.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Champion of Side Shows R. BRYAN is an excellent talker, and has a temper soft inside, like a piece of pie. When harsh men of war hooted him st in Toronto, he said: for a pac My patriotism is satisfactory 10 the people of the United s satisfactory to the Cabinet of the United States; it is satisfactory to the Congress of the United St ates; it is and there is no single one living un- der our flag who dares to say there is one drop of blood in my veins that is not loyal to my country. I don’t need the endorsement of anybody anywhere else. That was well put. Asa matter of fact, though there were some shouts of “ pro-German,” it wasn't William's patriotism that was under fire at Toronto. It was his pacifism. He is a sure patriot, and his patriot- ism is sufficiently jsatisfactory to the people of the United States to secure to him freedom of movement, invest- ment and speech. It is satisfactory to the Cabinet that he resigned from be- cause he didn't want to fight, and pre- sumably it is satisfactory to Congress. But here's Mr. Bryan, one of the most influential and oratorical men in the country, and here's the country up to its neck in a righteous and creditable war, and the thing that Mr. Bryan finds Missionary: MAVE 1 YOUR PERMISSION TO LAND? “WAIT TILL TO-MORROW, TO-DAY IS MEATLESS DAY,” =) “GRACIOUS! I HOPE MR, HOOVER IS RIGHT WHEN HE SAYS THAT FAT IS GOING worthy of his vocal energies is not the war at all, but prohibition. He simply uses the war for the bet- ter exploitation of the thing that is his political heart. in discussing college athletics scholarship and the business of being a college president, Mr. Wilson spoke to the effect that he did not aspire to be president of a college where the side shows were a bigger in- terest than what went on in the main tent. That is not at all the attitude of Mr. Bryan. He is loyal. There is no smutch on him of the sort that dis- figures La Follette, He has sustained the administration since it got into the war and helped to get the necessary (Continued on page 531) comicbooks.com