Life, 1920-03-04 · page 36 of 78
Life — March 4, 1920 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satire mocks Congressional proposals to reward World War I veterans. The main cartoon illustrates the absurdity: congressmen propose wildly impractical schemes—dry-land cactus farms, underwater alligator farms, mountain-goat operations—located in bizarre places from Alaska to the Rio Grande, each reflecting the sponsor's business interests rather than veterans' actual needs. The article argues Congress is so fractured and self-interested that nothing will pass; they should have left decision-making to General Pershing rather than trying to coordinate 73 incompatible plans. The irony: an army succeeded in France because it had *one* unified command, not 73 competing strategies. The accompanying cartoons satirize other contemporary issues: inflation's effects ("increased taxes," "increased wages"), Prohibition, and political divisions. The page suggests American governance suffers from excessive talk and competing interests rather than coordinated action.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
420 Seventy-Three Different Plans EVENTY-THREE different bills have been introduced into Con- gress for the purpose of rewarding the ex-service men. They would seem to vary somewhat according to the par- ticular business of their congressional sponsors, illustrating the fact that no two men’s ideas of a good time are exactly the same. A dry-land cactus farm, an under- water alligator farm, a mountain-goat farm and a five-thousand-dollar loan with interest payable every twenty minutes are among the ideas that have been advanced to make the ex-soldiers happy. The locations of these varied enterprises are also picturesque: the Everglades of Florida, the Dismal Swamp, several small Louisiana swamps, and various and sundry dry and waste places stretching from Alaska to the Rio Grande. Some of the leaders in Congress re- port such a fixity of purpose combined with a corresponding diversity of means to reward the men who were in uniform, that they freely predict the movement will end exactly where it started, in talk. However, this will not be the first time that too many doctors have killed the patient. In these circumstances it is comfort- ing to reflect that the Ex-A, E. F., in their expedition to can the Kaiser, had the wisdom to leave Congress in Wash- ington and take General Pershing to France. Just picture an army going up Very Recent Bride: om, wotuen, var, 1 GUESS THERE'S NOTHING TO WORRY ABOUT, BUT }UT—(BOO-HOO!)—DID PAPA EVER FORGET TO K188 YOU IN THE MORNING? ion ‘ A PERFECT AMERICAN DAY against Germany’s finest with seventy- three different plans of campaign, varying all the way from putting salt on the enemy's tail to digging an elephant stockade to entrap him! Observations F the rate of exchange keeps on dropping, we can soon take a five- dollar bill and pass a week-end with the Prince of Wales without financial embarrassment. If Mr. Wilson keeps on improving the way the doctors say, then even if Dempsey fails us, the championship is still safe. Has Hoover got enemies enough to qualify? At present he can only count on Senator Reed. Note to American Legion: Why not be inoculated against political issues? It may not be long now before we'll all be staying away from only one church, We can’t all be happy, but at least we still have the privilege of keeping still about it. T. L. M. Limited ‘fs your Uncle Sam pro-British?” “Not enough to drop his H’s— Hylan and Hearst.” comicbooks.com