Life, 1921-12-15 · page 10 of 34
Life — December 15, 1921 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces from *Life* magazine: **Upper section:** A speech titled "Here! Here!" Or the Known Soldier" arguing Americans should remember forgotten soldiers, particularly those disabled or hospitalized. The speaker criticizes citizens for forgetting veterans and advocates remembrance as a moral duty. **Lower cartoon:** A satirical illustration with dialogue between "Glaucus" and "Claudius" discussing attending Christians being thrown to lions. Claudius remarks the lions "didn't seem to be very hungry." This is Roman-era satire, likely referencing Christian persecution under Roman emperors. The cartoon's point appears to mock either the spectacle of violence or indifference to suffering—the humor lies in the casual, disappointing nature of the violence described. The page likely dates to the WWI era based on the soldier-remembrance theme.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Here! Here!” Or the Known Soldier (Part of a recent speech by an unknown ruler, from a manuscript supposed to have been picked up on Penn- sylvania Avenue, Wa pews AND FELLOW CITIZENS: What I like about this great country of ours is the way she does things! It is true that it took her several years to make up her mind to get into the war, but when she did get in at last, how she did make the fur and the money fly! Tt took even longer for a minority of her citizens to make up their minds they could put over prohibition on the ma- jority, but, oh, how they did it! And now, all over this broad land, there is nobody taking a drink except the major- ity. Can you beat that? Friends, wimmen and bootlegge: n’t that wonderful? But what I like about this great country, more than any- thing else, is the fine way we remember our forgotten heroes. My friends, I tell you this is the test of a great ation. What with celebrations of all kinds, what with prize fights, what with movies, what with highbinding and ku-kluxing and preaching and golf playing and hylanizing, to think that we still remember to forget—that certainiy does show the right spirit. If it hadn’t been for that, just think of how lonesome all our returned heroes would have felt! Think of how poor the hospital accommodations would have been, think of how Sy all the red tape would have throttled their futures, think of the despair they would have felt over neglect, think of how many would have actually made away with themselves, and all because we did not remember to forget! | And so I y, here’s to the known soldier—the one we remembered to forget. And here’s to ourselves—may we never forget that we remembered to forget! Confession WOKE up this morning with a distinct sense of my own shortcomings. Sudden! without warning, I became aware of what a hypocritical wretch I had been. ‘Think f ng all one’s waking hours in deceiving little children! too horrible. A sense of shame overwhelmed me. Overcome with remorse, I resolved to do away with my- self. Then it occurred to me that this would be poor penance for all that I had done. Far better to lead a life of repentance. I would cut down my beard and become a messenger boy—at least I could pass the remainder of my life carrying flowers to loved ones, and performing other humble acts of service. Those children! I can scarcely pass them now without shuddering. . . . Nevertheless, I am doing what I can to make up for the injury I have done them. ... The bell rings . . . I am off once more. What was 1? Alas! a department store Santa Claus Glaucus: Did you go to see the Christiane thrown to the lions to-day, Claudius? Claudius: Yes, but it was rather tame. The lions didn’t seem to be very hungry. comicbooks.com