Life — August 1, 1918 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Ballad of the Profiteers" This page satirizes war profiteers during World War I. The poem by Richard Le Gallienne criticizes businessmen who grew wealthy supplying the military while soldiers suffered and died. Key targets include: - Those hoarding wheat and meat meant for soldiers - Profiteers with "large office suites" avoiding military service - "Greed" prioritized over soldiers' welfare The illustration "A Yankee Dream" depicts a soldier confronting a profiteer, with the caption sarcastically suggesting the profiteer recite the Declaration of Independence and national anthem—implying such patriotic words ring hollow from someone enriching themselves while others fight. The satire attacks the moral hypocrisy of war profiteering: commercial gain justified by patriotic rhetoric.