Life, 1924-03-20 · page 40 of 42
Life — March 20, 1924 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines advertising and satirical war commentary typical of 1920s *Life* magazine. The **top advertisement** promotes "Shoe Lacing Hooks"—a mundane footwear convenience—using typical early-20th-century consumer messaging ("Insist on having what you want!"). Below it, *Life* advertises itself as therapeutic humor: a doctor supposedly prescribes the magazine's "laughter" instead of sanitarium treatment for "exhausted nerves," positioning satire as mental health. The dominant content is *Life's* **War Prize Contest**, soliciting reader submissions about starting future wars. The entries are darkly satirical, proposing absurd schemes: spreading nationalist propaganda ("We can lick the world"), staging congressional junkies to Burma to provoke conflict, and offering cynical observations about warfare's true beneficiaries. One contributor notes his son died in WWI, adding bitter weight to the satire. The satire targets American militarism, nationalist rhetoric, and post-WWI jingoism—mocking both warmongering attitudes and the ease of manufacturing international conflict through propaganda and manufactured grievances.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
mon-sense eviden quality footwear—that the shoes are made for the wearer's convenience —Shoe Lacing Hooks. Your retailer can sell you shoes with lacing hooks. Insist on having what you want! “Get a Fresh Grip on LIFE” the doctor said. Our readers get one every week. So he tried ° if instead of the suggested sani- tarium. LIFE is the apostle of laughter, and laughter is Nature’s cure for exhausted nerves. The subscription cost only $5. The patient improved right away, and saved lots of time and bother swell. It does pay to read LIFE with Its Laugh on Every Page! ‘Try it and see for yourself, and have a good hearty laugh every week, or take our Special Offer Enclosed find One Dollar (Canadian $1.20, Fore Send Lire for the next ten weeks to Ae $1.40). York Foreign $6.60 1 598 Madison Avenue, New Canadian $5.80 wrnnoer macitnatee cvs eroee come LIFE’S War Prize Contest (Continued from page 9) were victims of itching trigger hngers; grand total, 456, The first 30 days of 1924 show a substantial and gratifying increase which if maintained will add a full 25 per cent. to the 1923 total. These fig you understand, are only approxi- mate and do not take into account the maimed or blinded or those missed entirely. ° It seems to me some people are darned hard to satisfy. Yours hopefully, Grenn G. Recep. 1 Lakeside Court, Duluth, Minn, Some Other Plans Wuart this country needs to bring on ood, big war is more bad taste. Reference is not made to the current bad oily taste in the mouth but to the variety which is so common that the Book of Etiquette wouldn't stoop to conquer it. The beauty of the system for bringing on a nice, big war by use of bad taste is that already there is a large volunteer army in the field training with thi To bring on the war it is only necessary for every one to join this army The system is very simple. Let it be expressed con- tinually by all Americans, by word of mouth, through the printing press and via radio, that We won the Great War. We can lick the world. ?ngland is a hog ance has no gratitude. The Japs are yellow Every Russian needs a bath and a haircut. The German women and children ought to starve. We ought to have as little as possible to do with these nations. Ii all of us, working together, will keep this up for only a short time, we can have the best and biggest war in the world. Freo B. Many. 133 North Maple ¢ , East Orange, N. J Tue first essential in getting up a war is selecting a proper site. I have felt that too little attention has been paid to this in the past. After an exhaustive survey, I feel that E would offer a good sporty course for the next war. I knew a Burmese girl or Irma from Burma we called her, and believe me, boy, she could—but I digress. Suffice it to say that Burma is tdeal. In order to start the war, the Government should organfze a junket of Congressmen ona Government transport to Burma It is to be regretted Mr. Denby has resigned, as he was par- ticularly good at this sort of thing. When th ngressmen have all landed in ‘ma, tip off the Captain of the ship to sail back here. Thus the junketeers will be stranded. The Burmese will be so mad at our playing this dirty trick on them that they will murder the C essmen and declare war this manner unwittingly doing us tw Grorce S. McMittax on us, ‘avors at once As the father of a son who would be twenty-five years old to-day, had he not freely flung himself as a sacrifice on the altar of Liberty in the Chateau jerry Offensive, August 3 1918, I would offer for your contest the good old rule w has worked so well long history, and for which every generation of my ancestors in America for three hu years has had to pay the price in blood on the battlefield Disband your army and navy, let your arms rust and 4 ships rot; neglect those who fought your former wars them go hungry and in want while they sce the grafters whe stayed at home roll by i 3. let all the world know that you regard your volunteer soldiers as visionary fools who follow the lure of drum, and are rightiully paid with wounds and neglect; let all the world know you car only for dollar-making and dollar-spending, are “pacifists who will not interfere to right wrong or tyranny anywhere, lest it hinder trade; that you are “too proud to fight”—and I will guarantee you foreign war or rebellion within ten years at any time. Wiuiam Newton Nicnots. 1615 Schiller Court, Madison, Wis. The sugg herewith, exe igible for the ,. trend of thought ax c included in Lire next © tions from Mr. Lardner and Mr. Cantor, quoted word limit, and are therefore inel- cy are published as > of the ong the Best Minds. More War Plans of comicbooks.com