Life, 1919-03-13 · page 28 of 42
Life — March 13, 1919 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes two distinct topics: **Upper cartoon ("Lest We Forget")**: Shows a businessman greeting another man at an office doorway while a woman works in the background. The caption warns against doing business with "the Hun"—a dehumanizing WWI-era term for Germans. This reflects anti-German sentiment during or after World War I, cautioning readers against commercial dealings with German nationals or firms. **Lower cartoon ("His Train")**: Depicts a woman with a baby carriage at a railway platform, titled "His Train." The accompanying text (a letter from "The Family") humorously complains about a newborn—described as a "consignment" lacking "powers of locomotion" requiring expensive care and daily outings. The joke plays on post-WWI exhaustion; the closing joke about "Government controlled" honeymoons likely references wartime restrictions or rationing affecting domestic life. Both pieces reflect immediate post-WWI anxieties: anti-German sentiment and weariness with government control and sacrifice during the conflict.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
er, to counteract this by other sounds which are not wholly ceable, especially from one to three o'clock in the morning, when we have arrived home from some pleasant eve g gathering and need the necessary in order to recuperate our en He insists on having his me brought to him at all hours of the day and night by an outwardly pleasant but wardly officious person who has prac- tically taken charge of the whole house- hold. At present this consignment has de- veloped no powers of locomotion, and has to be taken out in the fresh air every day, covered with expensive rugs ported from distant countries When he first came, he was some- and afforded them an opportunity to stop talking about their games of goli, their war work and other subjects upon which they have been dilating for sev- eral years. We regret to say, however, that the novelty has now worn off. His looks and general appearance are a matter of continual dispute, par- ticularly among the male members, who are almost unanimous in agreeing that he is not prepossessing. He is declared to bear a startling resemblance to cer- tain of these male members, who, being of strong courage, bear the news with resignation and with a show of out- ward complacency. While we feel a certain obligation to keep him on hand, in view of all the circumstances, we are telling you frank- ly our opinion in the hope that when you forward another consignment you will bear these facts in mind, and see if you cannot do better by us next time. Tt is, of course, always possible that we may be happily disappointed, and that this particular consignment may turn out better in the future than the present indications would warrant, but our personal observation and experi- ence, extending over quite a long pe- riod, are not provocative of much hope in this direction. Yours very truly, Tue Fairy “i HAT sort of a honeymoon did you have? overnment controlled.” LEST WE FORGET HOW TO ANSWER THE HUN WHO SEEKS TO DO BUSINESS WITH HIS TRAIN \