Life, 1918-11-21 · page 23 of 34
Life — November 21, 1918 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main illustration, "Observing the Sabbath," depicts a soldier in a WWI trench abandoning his post during combat. The narrator humorously describes depositing his rifle in a shell-hole and retreating opposite to Marshal Foch's (the French commander's) orders—"I beat it for the rear." This is satirical cowardice masquerading as religious observance. The text section "Camp Upton Troops in France" discusses newly drafted American soldiers (from Camp Upton) arriving at the front for the first time. The author attempts to ease their anxiety with jokes, sarcastically asking if the "Bronxville Boy Scout Brigade" is storming Yonkers or attending an Elks gathering. This mocks both the untested recruits' nervousness and civilian disconnection from warfare. The bottom illustration shows a naturalist examining a yawning hippopotamus to determine its diet—a simple visual gag unrelated to the war material above.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ORSERVING THE SABBATH. immediately (as O. Henry says) pressed the button that connected with the welkin, and caused it to ring with songs of praise, gladness and thanksgiving. I tenderly deposited my rifle and equipment in the deepest and wettest shell-hole visible, and 751 then proceeded rapidly in a direction exactly opposite to that which Marshal Foch had indicated as our objective. In other words, I beat ‘it for the rear. CAMP UPTON TROOPS IN FRANCE Over a month ago the British Guards Division, who were holding the line on our right, were relieved by a regiment of Yanks fror them coming up through the darkness, Camp Upton. I watched nd the occasional gun-flashes and flare- lights gave my first pse of the products of the selective draft. They were certainly a splendid lot, and it made me think of General Wood and how satis fied he must be at this substantial veri- fication of his principle of universal mili tary service I was sitting he parapet of a com: munication trench in the rear as these boys filed up through the mud, They were going into the front line for the first time, and you ¢ imagine they were me as though TI was just part of the a bit nervous and tense, and I thought I'd re- asked, athé News picture lieve the tension a bit, and ton Ave is this ox way—the Bronxville Boy Sco xoing to storm Yonkers, or just a delega tion of Elks bound for the annual clan bake in Flushi You ought to proar— we had This b ur dyed-in-the-w ch had ht I never did any- and maintain a roll ILLIS Is he rich? You bet. Why, he’s got Naturalist: WAT AN OPPORTUNE YAWN! NOW I CAN FIND OUT WHAT THE BEGGAR FEEDS ON, comicbooks.com