Life, 1919-12-04 · page 46 of 80
Life — December 4, 1919 — page 46: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece critiques American businessmen who profited from WWI while soldiers fought. **The Setup:** An ex-soldier named "John Doughboy" (representing the typical American soldier) applies for work at a soap manufacturer. His application lists his previous employer as "William Hohenzollern & Co." — a thinly veiled reference to the German Kaiser. **The Satire:** The joke is that Doughboy's actual wartime job was selling bullets to Germany (the enemy). He frames it as legitimate business: he was the company's "representative in Europe," supplied bullets to Germans in "small batches," and now German creditors (represented by the fictional "Ebert & Co.") owe payment. **The Point:** The cartoon mocks American industrialists who sold supplies to Germany before and during U.S. involvement in WWI, profiting from the war while soldiers risked their lives. It suggests corporate greed superseded patriotism—businesses treated warfare as just another market. The ex-soldier's confident tone exposes the hypocrisy: if selling bullets to the enemy was acceptable business practice, why reject hiring him now?
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Promising Young Salesman Retums from Abroad CLEAR-EYED young man, dressed in clothes that were a little tight at the chest and shoulders, walked into the offices of a prominent soap manufactur- ing concern. “Tam looking for work,” he announced, “T'm quite sure we don’t need any help just at present,” said the meticulous attendant, “but you might fill out one of our application blanks, and I'll see that it gets to the man- ‘A\ t ager.” . The young man took the NS prifiered) paper and’ ipée and filled in the lines as follows: Name: John Doughboy, Address: Y.M.C. A. Hut No. 3, City. Name of previous This concern Position held: Infantry, A. E. F. Length of time in last position: Two years, Nature of duty: man. Nature of work desired here: Anything. “Very well,” said the attendant, when the ex-soldier had finished. “Now if you return next week some- time, or—"" “ Please take it in now.” Backed by that square jaw and those straight-glancing eyes, it amounted to a command. The attendant disap- peared behind a door marked “ Pri- vate.” “Mr. Davis will see you immediate- ly,” he said, when he returned. The manager, still fingering the ap- plication, motioned the ex-fighter to a chair beside his desk. “Really, Mr. Doughboy,” he began, “T would like to take you on here. But your application clearly shows that you have absolutely no knowledge of our business. Under the circumstances—” But the applicant interrupted. “On the contrary,” he said, “I have been engaged in your business as your employee for the past two years. I probably know more about the ins and outs of it than you do, especially the exporting end. I have been acting as your representative in Europe. France employer: Sergeant, 112th Bullet sales- and Germany have been my territory. 1 have turned in my expense account regularly, and my wages have come out of your bank account. “My job has been to supply your hullets to the well-known German con- cern of William Hohenzollern & Co. I retailed them in small batches. I'm glad to say that I was able to dispose of all but a few consignments, which will be returned to you in good order. Of course, there may be a little delay in collecting payment. The Hohen- zollerne recently went into bankruptcy, as you know. But ay firm called Ebert & Co, has taken over their bus ness and debts, and guaranteed to pay a hundred cents on the dollar. “While I was distributing bullet for you in France, you had salesmen on the road here retailing soap. But de-line. Your mair That's what you that was just a s product was bullets. had money and your business reputation invested in, like every other decent concern in the country, and you had four million cracker-jack sales men on the job for you marketing the your “ REMEMBER, BOB, IT’S WICKED TO STEAL—AN’ BESIDES, THE MAN IS Watcuin’ Us” comicbooks.comyy