Life, 1918-04-04 · page 24 of 40
Life — April 4, 1918 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains WWI-era satirical content reflecting American anxieties about German aggression and espionage. **Top cartoon** ("I'll wait, dear"): Shows a woman standing in a European street as a car passes. The caption suggests she's waiting for someone, likely conveying anxiety about separation during wartime. **"A Type of Mind"**: References Brand Whitlock, the American minister to Belgium during German occupation. The text mocks people who confuse verbal "protection" with actual safety—a dig at those who believed diplomatic language could shield them from German invasion. **Dialogue snippet**: An American and Belgian discuss faith; the Belgian expresses dark certainty about German treatment of civilians if they invade America—a propaganda point about German brutality. **"Had to Do It"**: Jokes bitterly about a saboteur (who ditched trains, attacked civilians, bombed shipyards) being merely "interned" rather than executed, because he claimed "diplomatic rights." The sarcasm critiques lenient treatment of enemy agents. **Bottom illustration** ("Great Scot!"): Lee Corey's drawing of what appear to be German soldiers or refugees, though context is unclear. Overall: anti-German propaganda emphasizing invasion fears and espionage threats.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“T'll wait, dear” A Type of Mind HE AMERICAN: The trouble is we all lack faith, : He used the word “ protection” with that curious, Tue Becran: Not 1. If the Germans get over to baflling superstition which characterizes the type of your country, I have a perfect faith as to what they will do mind that confuses words with acts, that considers to your women and children. problems solved when the word that defines them has heen discovered and pronounced. It is only Brand Whitlock alted Person- ‘O, that is not lese majeste. speaking in Every age, but of a frightened ybody's, not of any erman-American in Brussels sev- eral days before the Germans came. Had to Do It “ HAT did they do with that fellow that ditched a train, shot a woman and brutally beat three children? Hang him?” “No; he claimed his diplomatic rights.” “Why, he proved he'd blown up a shipyard and burned an elevator, and produced his spy credentials, so they had to intern him.” bse Connery GREAT scot!