Life, 1921-03-03 · page 10 of 38
Life — March 3, 1921 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains Richard Le Gallienne's poem "Reparations," a post-WWI critique of proposed German war reparations. The poem argues against punitive measures, suggesting they won't change Germany's fundamental nature ("The Leopard has not changed one spot"). It references France's devastation, Belgium's suffering, and the futility of expecting reform through punishment. The cartoon below depicts an office scene where a boy announces a female visitor to an editor. The editor's dismissive response—asking if she's "pretty" rather than seriously considering her manuscript—satirizes editorial gatekeeping and sexism in publishing. The joke highlights how women writers were routinely judged on appearance rather than merit, a common workplace discrimination of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘Reparations By Richard Le Gallienne E just unto the Rattlesnake, Maimed Belgium with her severed hands, A most misrepresented creature; The sea with children’s corpses scattered, The Tiger to your bosom take— And Europe's devastated lands Poor dear, he only wants to eat you; And noble shrines befouled and shattered, The Shark, though fierce in form and feature, Half sunny France with blood bespattered, Must live, kind sir—deny it not— Women debauched—Christ’s nurses shot, See how half-way he comes to meet you: Forget all these—they scarcely mattered; The Leopard has not changed one spot. The Leopard has not changed one spot. SS, Rae a Give the poor Octopus a chance — Forget the lads who died to save Is he not too of God's creation? Mother and sister, sire and daughter, He only wants to strangle France Who ran towards a bloody grave — And any other likely nation. In broken heaps of hellish slaughter: The Skunk to kindly contemplation, The lesson Germany has taught her For all his poison gas—Mein Gott! Has the Fool World so soon forgot? Deserves not (so much) reprobation — Was it for her to win we fought her? The Leopard has not changed one spot. The Leopard has not changed one spot. ——— S SX x Se. SS $ g ¥ yj 4 zi Ze AY Zt g t WSS pa », his Boy: THERE'S A WOMAN TO SEE THE EDITOR. _ Editor: 1s sue pretty? bas “WELL, IF SHE WASN'T SHE WOULDN'T BE CALLING WITH HER MANUSCRIPT!” ” sw comicbooks.com