Life, 1919-02-27 · page 35 of 38
Life — February 27, 1919 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Left Side - "Ballade of Doing Our Bit":** A poem by Richard Le Gallienne commemorating American WWI sacrifice. The verse celebrates soldiers' wartime contributions—"four years in hell" of combat—while critiquing hollow post-war rhetoric. The final envoi warns against empty boasting: "Don't talk as if we did it all," emphasizing humility about sacrifice. **Center - "Why Not Capitalize It?":** A satirical business pitch where an insurance salesman ("Mr. Smith") attempts to sell life insurance by emphasizing its practical value while ironically admitting he's only pitching to meet his quota ("your policy in person, but...only one minute under the new system"). The humor lies in his transparent, self-serving motivation masquerading as helpful advice. **Right Side - Advertisement:** A Gem Damascene Razor advertisement exploiting the patriotic mood: depicting a father teaching his son to shave, captioned "Setting a Good Example." This commercializes wartime themes of generational duty and moral instruction to sell razors—a cynical juxtaposition of corporate profit-seeking against the serious tone of the patriotic poem.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
pe, did our bit, the U. S.A. W We took our share of shot and shell, perhaps, in the day, mind—we did it well; re full four years in hell, vaist, backs to the wall; when you the story tell if we did it all angels bly pay vt would not sell y any Might compel, cemed so small, torture could not s if we did it all Serbia at bay, t a roof ‘neath which to ce. her soul half torn away ered and invincible; rer Alpine cita Italy, and ree land did her if we did it all. Envot of course—our bosoms f we did it all Richard Le Gallicnne, Why Not Capitalize It? % SMITH, I represent the Styg- Life Insurance Company. 1 don't want to talk to me ten to me; [know you have all ce you feel able to pay for here to tell you your chances night, or of ng hit b eon leaving this building + hall Ltry to convince you that ny can offer you anything wny other well-managed, ed concern, T shall not hat Lam especially interested and wish to do you a um trying to make a living, k application, You do any of the common Permit rt the amount—say twenty- ind dollars. Our doctor will 1 to-morrow at 12.01, Thank Smith. Yes; I am using a od, The idea came from the er your policy in person, but s only one minute under the tem, Good-bye.” Ballade of Doing Our Bit IGE = “| DAMASKEENE Millions in use today Bower 25 years rite for Shaving with a GEM Razor is just as easy and pleasant as it looks—let the ‘‘young shaver” remember thet those who have had shaving experience use the GEM, and are good ones to pattern after—they ‘te setting a valuable example. Your razor is wrong tf the blade 1s not right. The GEM Blade ti: a GEM fiaiie makes a perfect com- b jon for a perfect shave. —— Outfit —— Complete Includes frame, shaving and stropping handles and seven Gem Blades in handsome case as illustrated, or in Khaki case for traveling. Add 50 cents to above price for Canada Gem Cutlery Company, Inc., New York ‘Canadian Branch, $91 St. Catherive St., W., Moatreal comicbooks.com