Life, 1918-10-10 · page 6 of 33
Life — October 10, 1918 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a satirical cartoon or joke page**, but rather a wartime public service advertisement from Life magazine (likely WWI or WWII era, based on the conservation messaging). The advertisement promotes conservation of Weed Chains—tire chains used for traction in snow and mud. The ad argues that steel chains are more valuable than gold because they perform essential work. It urges readers to: - Reserve chains only for trucks and essential vehicles - Use passenger cars sparingly in bad weather - Install chains at first rain, remove when roads dry The central message equates chain conservation with gasoline conservation and national security. Wasting chains risks shortages that would harm essential industries. The ad warns that shortages force use of inferior makeshift chains, damaging tires. This reflects genuine wartime resource rationing and industrial priorities.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SRR ~ Weed Chains of Solid Gold —would not be worth as much as the Weed Chains of Steel you use on the tires of your passen- ger car and truck. Steel is worth more than gold now, for in these days we measure the real value of a metal by the work it does. Conserve your Weed Chains as you must con- serve gasoline. Use your passenger cars in bad weather only when it is necessary. Weed Chains must be saved for trucks and essential passenger cars, which should be kept going rain or shine. When you must use your car put on your chains at the first drop of rain, and take them off the moment the road is safely dry. Waste through reckless, unnecessary use is now a crime. If you don’t help save Weed Chains, as you are helping to save gasoline, there will be a national shortage. This means not only a tremendous loss, through injury to cars and trucks, but the checking and cur- tailing of essential industries to which these cars and trucks are essential. Cars and trucks must have chains on slippery pavements and muddy or snowy roads. A nation-wide shortage in Weed Chains means the use of makeshifts—a harmless rope, or ruinous non-creeping chains that give a certain amount of traction, but cut the tires to pieces. Conserve your Weed Chains. AMERICAN CHAIN Co., INC., BRIDGEPORT, CONN.