Life, 1919-05-01 · page 3 of 44
Life — May 1, 1919 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is **not a cartoon or satire** — it's a straightforward government announcement published in *Life* magazine (page 735). The United States Railroad Administration announces the lifting of wartime travel restrictions. The text explains that one year prior, the public was asked to avoid unnecessary rail travel due to World War I demands. Now that "war necessity is passed," the administration is removing these restrictions and launching an advertising campaign to encourage vacation travel. The announcement promotes American tourism to national parks, beaches, mountains, and historic sites. It provides contact information for travel planning assistance and is signed by the Director General of Railroads in Washington, D.C. This represents a return to peacetime normalcy following WWI's conclusion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VACATION TRAVEL The United States Railroad Administration Removes All Restrictions One year ago, under the pressure of war necessities, the public was requested to refrain from all unnecessary travel, and, under the stress of war conditions, the public was necessarily subjected to a great deal of inconvenience when it did have to travel. Now the war necessity is passed and it is the settled policy of the Rail- road Administration to do everything reasonably within its power to facilitate passenger travel and to make it more attractive. In furtherance of this policy, the Railroad Administration is entering upon a moderate program of advertising, to remind the people of the extraordinary opportunities for sight-seeing and for pleasure-seeking which our country affords—the National Parks, the sea shores, the lakes, the mountains, the woods, and the many places of historic interest. The vacation season is approaching, and the time is at hand to plan for a change of scene, for rest and recreation. It will be the effort of the Railroad Administration to aid in such planning and to make your travel arrangements convenient and satisfying. The staff of the United States Railroad Administration will be glad to furnish illustrated booklets and provide necessary information as to fares, train service, etc. Such information may be obtained from the local Ticket Agent or the nearest Consolidated Ticket Office, or by addressing the Official Travel Information Bureau at 143 Liberty Street, New York; or 646 Transportation Building, Chicago; or 602 Healy Building, Atlanta, Georgia. Every official and employee of the United States Railroad Admin- istration is a public servant. Call on them freely. Director General of Railroads Washington, D. C. comicbooks.com