Life, 1918-07-04 · page 22 of 36
Life — July 4, 1918 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page contains **anti-German World War I propaganda**, created when America opposed Germany (the U.S. entered WWI in 1917). **"A German Alphabet"** is a scathing satirical list pairing each letter A-Z with German wartime atrocities: "Agonized children," "Crucified Canadians," "Edith Cavell" (a British nurse executed by Germany), "Gas attacks," "Lusitania" (ship Germany sank), "Unrestricted submarine warfare," and "Zeppelin raids." This accused Germany of systematic brutality and was meant to justify American involvement and discredit anyone advocating continued German-language teaching in U.S. schools—a contentious issue during wartime. **The top cartoon** jokes about a boy at military camp: his mother says he "looks like our boy" except "he's working"—implying her actual son is lazy by comparison. **"He Caught It"** shows someone chasing a light, possibly mocking German efficiency or military strategy. The page reflects how wartime hysteria affected American culture, including opposition to German language education and immigration.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mother (wi. iting camp): OH, FATHER, THAT LOOKS LIKE OUR Boy Now! “IT DOES; EXCEPT THAT HE'S WORKING.” A German Alphabet 'OR the consideration of those who would continue the teaching of Ger- man in the public schools : Agonized children. Burned cathedral Crucified Canadians. Deported civilians. Edith Cavell. Frightfulnes Gas attack: Hospital ships torpedoed. Impaled babies. Junkerism. Kultur. Lusitania. Mexican plot. Nameless mutilations. Official marriages. Prisoners tortured. Quantity murders. Rheims, maliciously destroye: Scraps of paper. Tuscania. Unrestricted submarine warfare. Violated nunneries. Wells poisoned. X Unknown quantity of indescribable horrors. Young girls abducted. Zeppelin raids. HE CAUGHT IT “Aha! A light! Hope I can catch it before it goes out!” Notes on Books and Authors RMENTRUDE FAWCETT HY- DRANT, the talented Indiana authorine, is working on a book whose heroine is to be a four-year-old girl with a vocabulary of thirty-two words, chief among which are joy, gladness, happy, sunshine, sweetness, darling and courage. Printem and Sellem, the progressive publishers, announce that they have ar- ranged with Tallboy K. Penwiper for an up-to-date crime novel, in which a millionaire is killed on page three, and one on every twenty-sixth page fol- lowing. Publishing circles are agog over the report that Ravelin Worcestershire, the sensational short story writer, is plan- ning a series of twelve short stories, in cach of which the heroine is married aid divorced within the space of two weeks. J. Swivel Gornergrat, author of “The Cross-Eyed Potato and Other Weird Tales,” has just finished a new novel, which consists of nothing but talk, An interesting fact concerning the last novel of Elmer Ephelant Escarolle, which was numbered among the nine best sellers for eleven consecutive months, was recently related by Mr. Escarolle himself. “My book,” said Mr. arolle, “is nothing but ‘The Three Musketeers’ rewritten. I laid the, scene in a European principality stead of in France, had my characters ride in automobiles instead of on horses, and cut out a lot of Dumas’ hot air. Believe me, the reading public will stand for anything.” Lammermoor Hartshorn, of the writ- ing staff of the Tommyrot Magazine, is a holdout for higher prices. Harts- horn declares that unless the Tommy- rot pays him two thousand five hun- dred dollars apiece. for his famous Automatic Love Stories, instead of two thousand one hundred dollars apiece as in the past, he will jump to Fiddledeedee's Monthly, IRST SOLDIER: I wonder if the nurse you had was the same one T had. Srconn Soipier: I don't know, but she was wonderful! Beautiful as an angel, with a smile that would melt a statue and a hand as soft as velvet! Was yours like that? “They are all like that when you're sick.”