Life, 1923-07-19 · page 5 of 36
Life — July 19, 1923 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine satirizes post-WWI American politics and foreign policy. The poem "Life For Posterity" mocks the idealistic justifications for American intervention—freeing enslaved people, establishing commerce, protecting democracy—while the actual results prove cynical and disappointing. The illustration shows a mother and child, with dialogue about removing a fly screen to let mosquitoes inside—a metaphor for allowing undesirable consequences through protective measures. References include Lincoln's emancipation, Sherman's campaign, and contemporary post-war entanglements (Cuba, Spain, France, Lafayette debt). The poem's bitter conclusion—mentioning the Ku Klux Klan, the Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition), and German reparations—suggests America's grand war rhetoric produced only divisive domestic policies and failed international outcomes.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
q e For Posterity y= ragged Continentals stood Against the tyrant George; They shot to kill at Bunker Hill, They froze at Valley Forge. Terrific hardships they endured, The benefits of peace abjured, That we, their sons, might be assured ° The initiative and referendum, free seeds, La Follette and the Interstate Commerce Commission. When Lincoln took his pen in hand To set the bondman free, The line of gray still barred the way Of Sherman to the sea; And men knew sorrow and distress At Shiloh and the Wilderness, That their descendants might possess : The Republican party, filibusters, the direct primary, rivers and harbors appropriations and the New Freedom. Our men responded to the call To end the Cuban row; And some were slain by troops from Spain, But more by army chow. They swept the Spaniards from the map, After a short but lively scrap— And now our country has on tap: The Committee of 48, the collected diplomatic addresses of Colonel George Harvey, and the League for Philippine Independence. It seems as if 'twere yesterday We sent our boys to France, To pay the debt to Lafayette And check the Hun’s advance. No selfish gain our legions sought, But altruistically fought, And with their sacrifices bought: The income tax, the Eighteenth Amendment, the Ku Klux Klan, several billion German marks and the farm bloc. Stoddard King. “BOBBY, DID YOU TAKE THE FLY SCREEN OUT OF THE WINDOW?” “YES, MOTHER, THERE WAS A WHOLE LOT 0’ POOR LITTLE MOSQUITOES WAITING TO GET IN.” comicbooks.com