Life — October 31, 1918 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Page Analysis This page is primarily **advertising with one satirical poem and cartoon**. **"The War Profiteer" poem** by Carolyn Wells satirizes someone accumulating wealth through wartime. It's a recipe-style mockery listing ingredients like "guile of a Judas Iscariot," "schemes of Machiavelli," and "greed" to be mixed and simmered—suggesting war profiteers deliberately combined corruption and ruthlessness for profit. The accompanying cartoon shows a figure in shadow counting money, reinforcing the theme. **Below that**: A short anecdote about two physicians discusses a surgical operation's timing—apparently making a joke about medical fees or procedure costs. **Remainder**: Magazine advertisements (diamonds, Evans ale, Listerine, Bell-ans antacid) occupy most space. The satirical content critiques **wartime financial exploitation**, a common Life magazine theme during WWI era.