Life, 1918-08-22 · page 25 of 34
Life — August 22, 1918 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1918 Life magazine page satirizes wartime profiteering and hollow patriotism during World War I. **The main cartoon** shows a factory owner speaking to a government official. The owner claims patriotic support for the war effort—cutting delivery routes, reducing cloth in suits, promoting Thrift Stamps and "Comfy Kits" for soldiers. However, his actual motivation is transparent: saving money while maintaining profits. He cuts materials but won't lower prices; he fills soldier care packages with slow-moving inventory that sells at inflated prices. **The satire's point**: Merchants wrapped greed in patriotic language. They made wartime sacrifices sound noble while exploiting scarcity and public support for soldiers to boost earnings. **The smaller cartoon** about "Mr. Bird the motorist" is a separate joke: a firefly igniting a gasoline tank—referencing fuel rationing and the danger of gasoline during wartime. The poem "Version of 1918" at top reinforces the theme: civilians claimed sacrifice was necessary, but the page exposes self-interest masquerading as patriotism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“so you “1 USED To BE Version of 1918 G0? near is vietory to a erust, "So dear is food to man, “Herb” “Do You must!" The housewife says, “FM can!” When says, bit! your They Are Not All Like This ES, we'll agree to be patriotic and cut down our wagon delivery to said the t will save thousands a year. “And we'll make our carry their small packages home. That sill dé away with hiring boys. “Will we mix more cotton with the pol in our suits? I don’t see how that is possible, but I guess we'll man- c it “As cloth must be saved, we're will- merchant. a day big customers WANT THE JOR OF FOREMAN IN MY KEEPER AT THE PEN, AND HEPORE THAT TWAS A DOG TRAINER.” FACTORY, WHAT HAVE “YOU GET THE Jon, to cut down the material in’ the sits. 1 guess the women won't com- plain on that But won't asked to down on score. we he cut the price, will we? “Can arrange to place for the sale of Thrift some patriotic woman will volunteer her services to sell them? That, of course, will depend on what commis- little amps if we have a sion we get. “Are we interested in war charity? Sure! We're thinking of the poor boys over in the trenches all the time. those Comfy Kits we make up especially for their friends to send them? We fill them with slow- moving stock, and they sell like hot cakes at fancy prices, “Come in again. We're always glad to sce a representative of the govern- any You pONE neFoRE?” You'll find x to help the ad- ment m these trying times us more than wil ministration win the war.” GREAT scot! Mr. Bird, the motorist: WHAT HAPPENED? THE LAST THING I REMEMBER WAS WHEN A FIREFLY LIT ON MY GASOLINE TANK, comicbooks.com