Life, 1919-07-10 · page 18 of 50
Life — July 10, 1919 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces mocking early 20th-century American politics and social changes: **"We Knew It"** ridicules women's suffrage. Life claims to have "warned" that voting rights wouldn't improve society, and now predicts five hundred female Republican campaign speakers will inflict "horrors" comparable to bad after-dinner speeches. The satire attacks anti-suffrage pessimism by exaggerating it to absurdity. **"Hope and Trust"** sarcastically dismisses peace efforts. With twenty-three wars ongoing and the Peace League inactive, it mockingly suggests there's "all the time in the world" to escalate conflicts efficiently—implying the League of Nations is useless. **"Credit"** and **"Fiddleback"** offer sardonic observations on economics and government control, the latter joking that government regulation now controls even mothers' schedules. The upper illustration shows a formal social gathering where a maid's religious objections prevent dancing—commentary on servant class influence and shifting social hierarchies.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
We Knew It WHEN at times dur- we have timidly _ to suggest that 6, after all, woman suffrage n't going to regenerate the world and would do more harm than good, certain respected friends have groaned their disapproval We felt, however, that time would vindicate our judgment And now we ha Il for five hun- dred women orators to speak from the Republican platforms in New York. Other states are falling into line Please remember that this is only beginning. When woman suffrage gets going, God help us all! We have managed, during the course of generations, to survive the horrors of after-dinner speaking and other masculine oratory. A political cam- paign of the future cannot be contem- plated without the blanched face and the intensive shudder Hope and Trust Twenty-three wars are now going on.—Bonar Lav O not be discouraged. Remember that the Peace League has not yet xot going. Give it time. After all, twenty-three wars is not a bad begin- ning. They may be small wars as yet, but there is all the time in the world to put them on a really efficient basis. STRIKE and the world strikes with “a'M AWFULLY SORRY, BUT I MUST ASK YOU NOT TO DANCE. MY NEW MAID you: work, and you work alone IS PRIGHTFULLY RELIGIOUS, AND DOESN'T APPROVE OF IT” Credit HE other man’s belief that we will pay. A spur to to-morrow’s labor Money we have but cannot show. Profits yet unmade. To-day’s steam made with to-morrow’s coal. The world’s confidence in the ability of the future to pro- duce the goods. The oil which lubricates the bearings of commerce. Reputation capitalized To-day hacking to-morrow on yesterday's indorsement. Zasiest to get by the man who needs it the least IDDEBACK: Your mother is late—as usual. Bowir: Say, Dad, perhaps she’s under government DISPOSSESSED control,