Life, 1918-12-19 · page 12 of 34
Life — December 19, 1918 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon, titled "The Zone System as the Nabob Fist," depicts a large mechanical fist (labeled "Literature") crushing a small female figure. The accompanying article, "How to Help Germany," criticizes American relief efforts toward post-war Germany. The satire mocks the irony that while Americans claim humanitarian intentions, Germany has been economically starved through the "Zone System" (Allied occupation and trade restrictions). The female figure personifies Germany or its literature/culture. The "Literature" label suggests the piece critiques how even intellectual and cultural aspects have been crushed. The lower section, "The Inside Route," contains unrelated aphoristic humor about life's disappointments and an illustration of two figures dining, with the caption about meatless days—likely referencing post-war food rationing affecting both Germany and America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ZONY SYSTEM The Inside Route ITY to him who always achieves his ends. It is a yreat life if you weaken The monorail mind never can know the joys of instability, of weakness, of procrastination. AI laughter is born f failure. AM humor is the record of venture gone wrong. ble. the illy balanced. the impulsive being experiences sensatior that the cock-sure never know. The drifter on life's current finds strange and unexpected vistas, magic coves, reedy marshlands where the factory whistle and the timeclock are un- known, It is a grea 2 weaken— occasional “naluat How to Help Germany F those kind-hearted: Americans who are seeking to aid Germany want to be of permanent service, they should have translated and disseminated through- out that ill-taught land some mil of copies of the * Water-Babies.” It is an over-estimated nursery classic, hecause Canon Kingsley would try to be funny when the fates had ordained that he should never be; but it will in- troduce to the rising generation of Huns two persons whom they bailly need to know, Mrs, Doasyouwould hedoneby and Mrs. Bedonebyasyou did. With the first of these estimable ladies Germany has had no acquain tance for the past half-century, With the second she desires no acquaintance to-day. Indeed, she is so annoyed by what seems like intrusiveness on the good dame’s part that German wome cabled to Miss Jane Addams, asking her to exert her social finesse and stave off an introduction which could not fail to be embarrassing to all parties. I's no use! Germany put up the Liggest bluff against the moral law that the world has ever seen, but the natur law is a bit too strong for her. three years she has been busy destroy ing food-stuffs. There lie at the hot tom of the sea cargoes of grain that would have fed all the nations of the earth. Now she sees no connection be tween this piracy and her own unsiatis- fied appetite. She put the French coal- fields out of commission, but with no NO MORE MEATLESS DAYS, MY DEAR”