Life, 1918-04-11 · page 18 of 44
Life — April 11, 1918 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This WWI-era satirical page promotes Liberty Bond purchases—U.S. government war loans—through multiple cartoons attacking objections to buying them. **Top cartoon**: "Wall Street" as a rotund woman labeled "Liberty Bond" conducts soldiers and officials distributing money, implying wealthy interests profit from war financing. **"Liberty Bond Don'ts"**: A sarcastic list mocking reasons people avoid buying bonds—doubting government solvency, considering safer investments, or resisting "patriotic solicitors." It frames financial concerns as unpatriotic selfishness. **"Things in the Army"**: Lists supposedly positive military effects (appetite, respect, love for mother) versus negative ones eliminated, promoting the war's supposed moral benefits. **"Conscientious Objector"**: A child refuses castor oil by claiming Christian Science principles—mocking religious objectors to military service as hypocritical or absurd. **Bottom caption**: Mocks a soldier borrowing a French relic for "bayonet work," using dark humor about actual combat violence. The page overall pressures readers into patriotic compliance and bond purchases by ridiculing resistance as cowardice, selfishness, or intellectual dishonesty.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIBERTY [z Things in the Army That | Increase Decrease Your appetite. Your surplus fa Your respect for the flag. Your self-conceit. PA Tmwe uct Re Your love for your mother. Your fastidiousness. Your promptness. Your selfishness. Liberty Bond Don'ts democracy. Your carelessness. Don't Your feet. Your finances. Leave them for other people! Imagine you could make a safer investment! Blame the administration for issuing them! Envy the big investors—join them! Resolve to buy only one bond! Try to dodge patriotic solicitors! Yield to selfish tight-fistedness ! Belittle the four per cent.! Offer your bonds as purchase money! Neglect to safeguard them! Deem it vulgar to wear a bond button! Doubt the government's solvency! Omit to display the bond flag! Necessitate compulsory buying ! Think you are doing more than your duty Sigh when you hand over your money! Edmund J. Kie fer. A Conscientious Objector OTHER: Now, Ethel, take this castor oil like a brave little lady. Erne: I don't think it would be right for me to take it, mother, You see, I have just decided to become a Christian Scientist. Private Jones (who has borrowed a relic froma near- by chateau): THIS IS WHAT 1 CALL THE PROPER COSTUME prearranged retreats. FER BAYONET WORK. 'HE Hindenburg line is the shortest route between two comicbookseeri)