Life, 1918-05-02 · page 16 of 40
Life — May 2, 1918 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes **George Creel**, head of the Committee on Public Information during World War I, famous for managing wartime propaganda and official bulletins. **"An Able Defense"** mocks Creel's credibility by depicting him hauled before Senator Lodge for issuing false weather forecasts. The joke is that Creel—who controlled official messaging—follows orders uncritically ("When the chief says it is fair and warmer, then it has got to be so"). His admission that "Nobody cares, and nobody knows, either" sarcastically exposes government indifference to misleading the public. The cartoon attacks Creel's reputation for propaganda by suggesting his entire operation prioritizes official narratives over truth. The "Historic Boys" header compares Creel's behavior to famous historical figures. **"Over the Top"** is an unrelated brief joke about Wall Street losses (topical to the era's financial concerns). The left illustration shows "Our Woodrow" (President Wilson) at a mailbox; the right shows "The Belasco Boy" (unclear reference without more context).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
OUR WoopRow An Able Defense R. CREEL, hauled up before the Senate for misrepre- senting the weather in his official bulletin, listened calmly. “You are accused, and the evidence against you seems complete,” declared Senator Lodge, “of stating in the bul- letin that the weather would be fair and warmer, when as a matter of fact it snowed, hailed and rained on that same day. What have you got to say for yourself?” “T had my orders,” replied Mr. Creel, “ When the chief says itis fair and warmer, then it has got to be so.” “But you are misleading the American people.” “There, sir, you do me a grave injustice, I'm proud that I am always unprepared to say anything that’s worth saying. That's the beauty of my job, It doesn’t matter what I say. Nobody cares, and nobody knows, either.” So saying he wrapped the drapery of his couch about him and stole forth to his pleasant journalistic pipe dreams, Over the Top LACK: I hear you took a disastrous plunge in Wall Street. Whitt: Yes; I was sort of standing on the edge, and someone gave me a tip! HISTORIC BOYS LZ mt “He loves me—he loves me not!” comicbookseor