Life, 1919-03-20 · page 30 of 44
Life — March 20, 1919 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This WWI-era satirical page mocks post-war domestic adjustment. **"The Homecoming"** depicts a soldier returning to find his wife behind bars—suggesting marriage itself has become a prison, a common anxiety about soldiers reintegrating with restrictive home life. The **"Efficiency Test"** humorously lists how different family members now view home through militaristic language: the mother as "base hospital," father as "disbursing office," the maiden aunt as "no man's land." This reflects how wartime vocabulary and military hierarchy had invaded civilian speech and relationships. **"What Home Means to Them"** extends this satirical military framing, suggesting families have adopted expeditionary-force mentality during wartime separation. The other sections joke about bureaucratic delays preventing marriage proposals and outdated parental warnings being replaced by absurd modern ones ("electrically heated flying suit"). The overall point: wartime has fundamentally altered domestic relationships and language, making the homefront itself feel like a military operation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
MRS. SAINT PATRICK Maybe She'll Get It Yet “VYJHY is it that old Miss Stebbins Scarce These Days “CAN you put my advertisement next to pure reading matter?” “But can you supply the pure read- ing matter?” never married? “Governmental delay. The youth she loved sent his proposal by mail.” THE HOMECOMING Our Efficient Efficiency Test for Grown-Ups O you hate yourself? not? If not, why Tell in as few words as possible why W. W. went to Europe. Can you look a bill-collector in the eye and smile? What would you do if your wife pre- sented you with a pair of socks which had been rejected for overseas work? Would you wear them without a mur- mur? What words do you repeat when you wake up at two o'clock, only to remem- ber that you left the hose turned on in the garden the evening before? THE FINAL OUTRAGE What Home Means to Them 'O the Small Boy—The service of supply. To the Young Lady—The theatre of operations. To the Young Man—Headquarters expeditionary forces. To Grandma—A rest sector. To the Black Sheep—An awkward salient. To the Maiden Aunt—No man's land. To Mother—The base hospital, sal- vage depot and camp commissary. To Father—Headquarters disbursing office and adjuster of claims. LD STYLE: Now, John, don’t go out without your rubbers. New Styte: Now, John, don’t go up without your electrically heated fly- ing suit, comicbooks.com