Life, 1918-09-05 · page 28 of 34
Life — September 5, 1918 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes **WWI-era government censorship and nepotism**. The top cartoon mocks George Harvey, a real magazine editor and critic who attacked Wilson administration officials—Secretary Baker (war), Burleson (postmaster general overseeing censorship), George Creel (propaganda chief), and Henry Ford. The "court" sentences Harvey to "Oyster Bay" (Theodore Roosevelt's home, implying exile), ridiculing how criticism of the war effort faced legal threats during wartime. "The Pull" poem criticizes **political nepotism**—giving positions to unqualified relatives. A ship captain gives his son the helm despite the mate's warning; the ship wrecks. It's an allegory for wartime appointments made through connections rather than competence. Both pieces target how WWI governments suppressed dissent and rewarded loyalty over ability, presenting this as dangerous to democracy and national interests.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“SHAVE OR HAIR CUT?” Celebrated Cases MONG the prisoners arraigned in court this morning was a. tall, handsome gentleman with dark eyes + and an earnest expression, who car- ried in one hand a large typewriter and in the other a big stick, and answered to the name of George Harvey. “Prisoner,” said the court, sympa- thetically, “you have been guilty of writing a book on tolerance and of telling some unpleasant truths about the present administration. What have you to say for yourself? “Your honor, it is true that I have referred to Secretary Baker as a vacil- lating pacifist, to Secretary Burleson as a politico-bureaucrat, to George Creel as a nincompoop, and to Henry Ford as one who declared that the Flag is only something to rally around—to come down after the war is over and never to go up again. But I contend that this is genuine tolerance. Think of how mild I have heen!” “You believe that this is the best way to win the war?” “I believe, your honor, that in a democracy there should always be criticism, but as I am, in an abject press, the only conspicuous example of one who dares to tell the truth, I main- tain that I ought to be decorated.” “Well, prisoner, you may be en- titled to your opinion. But in order to set a proper example, I sentence you to thirty days in Oyster Bay.” FTER receiving a pocket service book, a pocket Bible, a pocket album, a pocket French dictionary and a pocket edition of the poets, Private Peters hurriedly wrote: “Please send no more pocket editions until I get some pocket additions.” The Pull “THIS is my son,” the captain said, “And this my ship,” said he; “So give him the helm and let him steer, That he may learn the s “Aye, aye.” said the mate, “but the job is one For men who know the trade.” But the captain scorned the mate’s ad- vice, “Let him steer the ship,” he said. So that was the ship the breakers caught, That stranded and washed ashore; A ship that had weathered many a gale On many a trip before. And the reason it lies upon the beach, Half buried beneath the sand, Was the act of giving a man a job He did not understand. Oh, whether it be an ocean craft Or a business enterprise, Or whether it be a son or friend, This law of life applies: The use of power to set a man At a task he does not know Is often a very costly whim, As the records of such will show. Owen Bay. ONTINUATION of the species is not in itself a sufficient aim in life, Neither is the suffrage. POETIC CAMOUFLAGE The Murmuring Pine: woovMan, SPARE THIS TREE! comicbooks.com