Life, 1918-11-07 · page 24 of 36
Life — November 7, 1918 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon satirizes young men who enthusiastically embrace the slogan "On to Berlin" (attacking Germany) but are themselves too young to enlist in World War I. The chorus line of eager, dancing figures represents this disconnect—they advocate for aggressive war aims while avoiding actual military service, likely mocking their patriotic posturing as performative rather than genuine commitment. Below, "Our Messengers to France" promotes Life magazine's Baby Fund, a charitable effort supporting French children during WWI. The article argues that American donations carry symbolic meaning beyond money—each dollar represents American compassion and hope for France's future citizens. Photos of specific French children (including "Baby 2952" and "Baby 2954") personalize the appeal, making abstract charity concrete by showing actual beneficiaries of American generosity. The juxtaposition critiques empty wartime rhetoric while promoting genuine humanitarian action.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ON TO BERLIN™ THE IDEA THAT INSPIRES THE GENTLEMEN OF THE CHORUS WHO ARE TOO YOUNG TO ENLIST Our Messengers to France N contemplating the work of the Baby Fund there comes to mind a question of whether the generous contributors and the other readers of Lire really understand just what it means. Do they know that every dol- lar carries with it a message of kind- liness from some good heart in Amer- a to some suffering soul in France? That with every dollar goes a recog- nition of courage in present sorrow and a gift of hope for the future? These meanings may not be put in so many words by either the sender or the recipient, but the brave mothers of France recognize it now, and in the years to come the little children of to-day will remember that it was from the people of America that came the aid which saved them to become the citizens of the new France. A contribution to the Baby Fund may not seem to those that make it a big or im- portant thing, but we who are able to measure the work in its entirety know something of what it aggregates in good done, in good feeling inspired, and that it is, in fact, a very big accomplishment. oscaR voRTET, BABY 3052 THE TOURILLON CHILDREN WITH MARIE, BABY 2954 comicbooks.com