Life, 1918-10-10 · page 22 of 33
Life — October 10, 1918 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page uses satire to promote WWI Liberty Bonds while mocking military hierarchy and undervaluing creative work. **"A Hundred Reasons for Buying Liberty Bonds"** (by Carolyn Wells) is an alphabetical list mixing patriotic concepts (Freedom, Peace, Victory) with war realities (Atrocities, Gas, Lusitania, trenches). The accompanying cartoon shows a soldier being denied entry to an officers' mess, satirizing class divisions even during wartime sacrifice. **"If Poets Were Paid as Plumbers Are"** mocks the undercompensation of poets by presenting a poem invoice styled as a plumber's bill. Items like "ten pairs of rhymes" and "ten ounces sentiment, high grade" are priced laughably low (totaling $30.25), while "mechanic's time" would cost far more. The satire critiques how society undervalues literary work compared to manual labor—a pointed jab at the Authors' League, which likely sought better compensation for writers. Both pieces use humor to address serious WWI-era issues: patriotic duty, class inequality, and artist compensation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
*LIFE* A Hundred Reasons for Buying Liberty Bonds MERICA, Allies, Atrocities, Aces; Belgium, Bombs, Bolsheviki and Bases; Congress, Columbia, Camoufiage, Crimes : Doctors, Destroyers, Dogs, Dollars and Dimes ; Expeditions, Equipment, Enemy, Emma Gee; s. Freedom, Food for France, Flag of the Germans and Generals, Gas, Gardens, Hoover and Hospitals, Helmets and Huns Income Tax, Italy, Issues, Ideals ; Justice Junkers and Juggernaut-wheels ; Kultur and “ Kamerad!" Kaiser and Krieg; Louvain, Lusitania, Liberty League: Murders and Morale; Mails, Mascots and Mercies; No Man's Land, Newspapers, Navy and Nurse Over There, Over the Optimism ; Peace, Perseverance and Patriotism; Quarters and Quarantine, Quickness and Quiet; Rheims, Rifles, Russia, Ruthlessne Riot; pangled Banner, Smokes, Sugar and Soups; . Tars, Trenches, Tanks, Taxes and Troops; m, Uniforms, Units, U-Boats; Victory, Vandals, Valor and Votes; War-Workers’ Wonderful Win-the-War Way ; Xtra Xpenses, Am-Ex and X-Ra Y. M. C. A., Yanks, Yaphank, Yip! Zest, Zeal and Zealotry, Zeppelins, Carolyn Wells. “WHERE DO We COME IN ON THAT PLE? “ONT YOU KNOW THAT PRIVATES AIN'T ALLOWED IN THE OFFICERS’ MESS?” THE STORM If Poets Were Paid as Plumbers Are Weattiy Eprtox, Esq. To Dove Dutcer, f Invotce re Poem No. 70 Your Eyes” Ten pairs of rhymes, at oc . $4.00 Three figures of speech, new, at 30c...... 1.30 Five figures of speech, old . 1.00 Mechanic's time, three hours, ten minutes.......... 7.35 Alterations as per your specifications 1s Two allusions to classic myths... . 2.00 Ten ounces sentiment, high grade... 1.70 Five yards vers libre, at union rates . . 65 One quotation from pling... ea oO Extra, parts of speech for emergency... No allowance for gc agreement. Hot and cold lyrics installed and fitted by ex- pert workmen, All smith and mill work of the Authors’ League Received payment, hy members Dove Dutcet. feel comp there toon vial comicbooks.com