Life — March 6, 1919 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Court-Martial on the Grill" This article discusses military justice reform. The main illustration shows icicles hanging from what appears to be a prison structure, titled "The Sad Result of Eaves-Dropping." The accompanying text describes a strike by 3,000 prisoners at Fort Leavenworth who refused work to protest harsh sentences. A prisoner confronts Colonel Rice, demanding better conditions and claiming their punishment for wartime offenses is unjust. The "eaves-dropping" image appears to be satirical wordplay—the literal icicles suggest frozen conditions or surveillance ("eaves-dropping"). The article criticizes the military's harsh court-martial system and suggests reforms are needed. The cartoon on the right shows a prison confrontation, though specific figures are unclear from image quality alone.