Life, 1922-03-02 · page 17 of 34
Life — March 2, 1922 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes the U.S. government's debate over a soldiers' bonus (likely the post-WWI veteran's compensation). The image shows "Old Mother Hubbard" (representing the U.S. Treasury or government) reaching into an empty cupboard labeled "U.S. TREASURY" while a dog in military uniform (representing veterans) watches hopefully. The figure labeled "CONGRESS" stands nearby. The accompanying nursery rhyme parody mocks the government's inability to provide promised bonuses to impoverished veterans. The satirical point: the cupboard is bare—there's no money available, yet soldiers expect compensation. The text discusses how Congressional debate and newspaper coverage might eventually reach the "right" conclusion: that the bonus should be abandoned. The passage also tangentially addresses Irish political conflicts under De Valera, suggesting opposition and struggle can ultimately strengthen governance. The cartoon's humor relies on the ironic gap between government promises and fiscal reality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
yers really behind the Secretary, he comes a fairly powerful force. Moreover, when discussion, as now, ally begins in Congress and the wspapers all over the country print iat is said, it makes a difference, and © component particles of the push Il separate a little from the mass, (begin to consider what is right and iat is wrong. So perhaps after all ‘e Bonus struggle will come to a just nelusion. Discussion is a great fac- when the newspapers back it up. is what we begin to rely on to keep © peace of the world, and it may bring reement between the taxpayers and © members of the Legion. If they 1 reach the conclusion that the Bonus | is bad for all concerned, and that tie proper place for it is the waste-paper hasket, a great sigh of relief will rise om the White House and become idible all over the country, and busi- ness will turn with resurrected hope to the job of providing pay-rolls for the 1employed. Old Mother Hubbard Went to the cupboard To get her poor dog a bonus. When. ..... PPOSITION seems to be neces- sary to progress. That is why there has to be the Devil. Good, it seems, cannot accomplish its job with- out an Adversary. The stars keep their place in the sky by dint of com- peting attractions. If they were not pulled different ways, there would be disorder and some hard bumps. All the same, it is hard for us to appreciate the value of opposition when it interferes, or seems to interfere, with the way we want things to go. These ructions in Ireland, for instance, they seem troublesome. We want the new political life in Ireland to run along like a mixture of butter and honey on a warm day. We want sweet reason- ableness to prevail, and all the good people to agree, and the lion and lamb to eat grass. together in Ulster, and all that. Instead of which—ructions! But it is probably all right. De Valera is raising all the hob he can, and that may be useful to develop in Collins and Griffith and their crowd the necessary capacity and the requisite popular support to handle trouble. Without the development of that ca- pacity and support, self-government in Ireland will not get along. There must be authority, backed by the Irish people, if there is to be security of life and property. There must be such authority if there is to be liberty. If it must come by dint of preliminary hard knocks, that is natural, especially in Ireland. Let us remember how inexperienced in governing Irish the Irish of Ireland are, and watch with composure as well as sympathy their efforts to learn their job. De Valera’s office is to weld together the new government. So long as they have him to fight, it will help them to agree with one another. E.S. M. comicbooks.com