Life, 1918-07-11 · page 23 of 34
Life — July 11, 1918 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes early-20th-century American anxieties and absurdities. The main article mocks the then-emerging fashion of paper clothing, imagining ridiculous consequences: a man catching fire near a stove, tearing his outfit, or—most scandalously—accidentally writing "Lunch with Daisy to-day" on his clothing when married to Abigail, creating domestic chaos. The "Cubist Poem" parodies both modernist poetry and Washington, D.C. summers during WWI (1918), using fragmented, repetitive language ("pant pant," "hot heat," "curse curse") to satirize the oppressive heat, overcrowded military officers, and wartime inflation affecting the capital. The lower dialogues mock wartime patriotism: Tommy Gillis acknowledges War Loan posters exist but admits indifference; his father then beats him, only to be interrupted by someone handing him a patriotic card—the satire being that enforced patriotism through fear and propaganda proves hollow.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
En THE ORIGINAL EXC Paper Clothing and So Forth note with interest that paper clothing for men is being shown by some of the clothiers, and they say that before next autumn a suit of clothes made of paper will be quite the common thing. Paper clothes present difficulties. A fellow dressed that way will have to be very careful about going near the stove. He cannot carry matches in his pockets, and the Lord help him, supposing he tears some of the paper. On the other hand, paver clothes will come in handy. He can, instead of using his shirt cuff only, jot down memo- randa on most any part of his apparel. Perhaps it will be quite the thing to find some chap with “Bring home a skein of sky blue,” or “Be home on time to-night because mother's coming,” or something to that general effect pencilled on his clothes. That might not be so bad, either; but suppose he is that kind of a fellow, you know, and goes about with something like this written on him, “Lunch with Daisy to-day "— when his wife's name is Abigail! ruly, the woes of man, poor man, are ever on the in- crease. S PROPHET Insecure RIEND: I see your son Sambo has secured a position. Rastus: No. He have got one, but he ain't secured it yet. His boss says he am liable to fire him any minute. FE- 59 Cubist Poem Washington in Summer, 1018 ANT pant a hot shivery heat a uniform hot he: hot heat uniform. \ uniform here a uniform there, tains, majors and colonels and capta and an occasional hot private. Salute salute cay ptains captains ca ins and more-c: in hot major heat colonel hell general humidity damn damn hot Swelter swelter Congress curse Senate curse captai majors colonels curse curse work work salute work salute curse swelter swelter hot uniform. Rent high thermometer high food high uniform high everything high high only talk ch cheap hot air and hot high uniforms. Sizzle sizzle on the Potomac. “THE LASS THAT LOVED A SAILOR” Not Very Enthusiastic ILLIE WILLIS: Ain't these War L Tommy Gittts: I'm not awful crazy about them. Wirtte Wittis: What's the matter? Ain't you patriotic? Tommy Gittis: Yes; but pa took me into the wood- shed to give me a licking to-day, and just before some fellow handed him a card that said, hurts.” nn posters nice? he began Give til it ROY who is scared into being good will soon be coaxed into being bad. comicbooks.com