Life, 1918-08-29 · page 22 of 34
Life — August 29, 1918 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical "open letters" mocking prominent figures of WWI-era America (circa 1918). **The Letters Mock:** 1. **Arthur Conan Doyle** — criticized for embracing spiritualism despite his celebrated rationality as creator of Sherlock Holmes. The letter warns that intelligent men shouldn't pursue such "credulity" in old age. 2. **Marshal Foch** (French WWI commander) — joking that America is shipping "wild-cat fighters" (presumably undisciplined American soldiers) to help the French advance toward Berlin. 3. **Lenin and Trotsky** — darkly suggesting they've "sold" the Bolshevik revolution to German commanders, offering to supply them with American politicians, congressmen, and publishers deemed undesirable. **The cartoon** shows an owl sentry challenging someone in "No Mouse's Land" — a pun on "No Man's Land" (WWI trench warfare terminology). **The Rumors section** contains invented gossip about German surrender, William Randolph Hearst's supposed moral reformation, and American political figures supposedly enlisting for the western front. The satire targets wartime incompetence, spiritualism's appeal to the educated, and suspected German-Bolshevik cooperation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Some Open Letters DEAR CONAN DOYLE: I've been reading with much concern your recent ; i articles and books on spiritualism, and this is just a line of : : ; friendly advice and warning, My dear fellow, don't. You've : He given us all so much pleasure by your exciting books, and you really have displayed so much genuine common sense, that it is a great sorrow to us to see you going the way of Sir Oliver Lodge and Alfred Russel Wallace and other otherwise good men, Don’t you know that no intelligent man, after he gets to be a certain age, can fool with spirit- ualism without getting off his base? Don't you know that in the whole history of humanity, as far back as you like, there is not a single instance proving life after death that is not based on credulity? Please don’t go that way, Sir Conan. Please! Mundanely yours, Lire. Marshal Ferdinand Foch, Y DEAR MARSHAL: We have duly received your salient news of August 1st, in which you acknowledge receipt of one million three hundred thousand wild-cat — fighters from this vicinity, In accordance with your advices we shall continue to make shipments to you at the rate of three hundred thousand per month until they reach from IN NO MOUSE’S LAND Sentry Owl: WHO0-0-0-00 GOES THERE? the Champs F s to Unter den Linden. All our folks are well. The garden is looking fine. With love to all your people and a couple of kisses for yourself, Yours, as ever, Lire. Me inant i rig ia if A Messrs. Lenine & Tro AR SIRS: Having learned that you have sold out your Bolsheviki plant to Ludendorff, Hindenburg, Hohenzollern & Co. (Limited) for a large sum and are still running it under the general management of this firm, I write to advise you, in case you are short of hands, that it would be a pleasure to supply you with a number who are suited to your purposes. Among those we have in mind are a former United States senator, several congressmen, a notorious publisher and editor and a number of leading statesmen, Tn case you can use any or all of these gentlemen, please cable at our expense, as we can struggle along without them and we feel they ought to be with you. Bolshevikily yours, MEE w= Lire. 4 Rumors It is rumored that Hindenburg is dead. —Newspaper item. r is rumored that the Kaiser has sent a letter of apology to Dr. Muehlon, former director at Krapp’s, telling him that he (the Kaiser) agrees with Dr. Muehlon, and be- lieves and hopes the German people will soon be brought to their senses, also that he is ready to abdicate at once. It is rumored that Mr. Hearst, suddenly filled with re- 5 morse over his own record, will discontinue all of his pub- B lications after next January, and will run for vice-president aN if HY of the Prohibition party, thus retiring permanently to a life of obscurity. It is rumored that Mr. George Creel, Mr. Burleson, Champ Clark, Senator Reed of Missouri and Senator La “THE THOUGHT OF YOU WILL ALWAYS SPUR ME ON TO DEEDS Follette of Wisconsin will soon leave in a Caproni airplane or —oucn!” for the western front. nM comicbooks.com