Life, 1919-01-23 · page 20 of 42
Life — January 23, 1919 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"The Home Coming"** is a patriotic poem celebrating American soldiers returning from World War I, emphasizing their bravery and the nation's pride in them. **"Unanimous"** satirizes political indecision about German naval strategy. The joke: Germans couldn't decide whether to sink their own warships, so they kept them harbored throughout the war—a pointed critique of German military incompetence or hesitation. **"The Boss"** depicts labor conflict: a working-class man threatens his employer that if wages are cut, he'll be fired and will slap the boss's face. This reflects post-WWI tensions between labor and management, as workers returning from war sought better conditions and faced employer resistance. The cartoon mocks both the boss's threat and the worker's defiant (if improbable) response, capturing the era's class antagonism and workers' assertiveness.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LIF E* The Home Coming ACK from the days of their danger daring, Over the leagues of foam, Back from the scenes of their far war-faring, Our boys are coming home We who have praise for them, and through long days for them Lifted a silent prayer, How shall we meet them, how shall we greet them, Dauntless and debonair? We are proud of them, all the crowd of them; Loud be the lilt of our cheers! In the wild rattle and rage of the battle, Ah, but they knew no fears! Fierce was the fight of them, strong was the might of them, Brave in face of the guns; Valiant and cheery from Chateau- On to the fall of the Huns. If we could for them, this we would for them, Blazon the long, long roll, Blazon it brightly, blazon it rightly, Large on our honor-scroll! Then a great shout for them! we'd never a doubt for them; Nothing their triumph mars; Reach out the hand to them through all the land to them Sons of the Stripes and Stars! Clinton Scollard. Unanimous = they can’t make up their minds whether to sink the German warships or not.” “Well, that’s the way the Germans felt about it. They kept them in the harbor for the duration of the war.” io | | eer | “TILLIE SMIF, I'M YOUR Boss: \¥ YOU DECREASE MY WAGES, I'LL FLKE YOU PERS’NAL I'LL SLAP YOUR FACE!