Life, 1918-04-25 · page 25 of 40
Life — April 25, 1918 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This *Life* magazine page satirizes Henry Ford's recent hiring of older workers. The article mocks Ford's supposed "discovery" that elderly men work reliably—noting the irony that railroads once refused to hire anyone over 45, yet now desperately want these same workers since Ford employs them. The top cartoons titled "Historic Boys" appear to be separate satirical pieces: "Willie Howells" shows an editor figure receiving medals and publishing achievements, while "Our Josephus" depicts a child playing soldier with toys. The bottom sketch, "Solitude," shows a domestic scene where a parent warns a child away from something dangerous, likely a gun or explosive device—a dark joke about wartime anxieties seeping into home life. The final dialogue about indemnities references post-Civil War reparations, sardonically suggesting the North still owes the South compensation—commentary on ongoing sectional tensions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Editor's 7 Easy Chair HISTORIC BOYS WILLIE HOWELLS OUR JOSEPHUS The Age of Old Men R. HENRY FORD appears to have made a great dis- covery, not unworthy to rank among his best inven- tions. In a recent interview in the World he was asked if he had found it necessary to employ women, and he replied : “No; I'm using old men—or men that used to be called old. And they are fine.” It was not so long ago that some of our most respectable railroads made a rule not to engage men over forty-five years of age. Now our greatest employer is discovering that old men are fine for work, Certainly the war is teach- ing us something. Old men, so called, are pretty 1i to make up by ex- perience—by knowing what to avoid—what they may lack in strength. For one thing, they are reliable. Those short-sighted railroads would now be glad to get them at almost any price—if Mr, Ford didn't cover the market. “para what is an indemnity?” “What you must pay for something that you have SOLICITUDE done. For example, the South is now making the North pay “O-o-oh! Leave that alone, Bobbie! Where would you | an indemnity for the Civil War.” be, supposin’ it was to go off?” comicbooks.com