Life, 1927-08-11 · page 25 of 36
Life — August 11, 1927 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes the instability of Chinese military recruitment during the warlord period (likely early 1920s). A Chinese recruiter and sergeant discuss which army to join, but every option collapses: the Northern Army may "go down tomorrow," the Southern Army is "fallen off terribly," and the Green Dragon Army was absorbed by the North, leaving a recruit jobless and reduced to pulling a rickshaw. The joke's point: China's fragmented military landscape made "joining the army" a fool's errand. Armies dissolved, merged, or went bankrupt without warning. The sergeant himself admits working for "all of 'em"—a cynical acknowledgment that these were interchangeable, unstable forces. The accompanying "Diplomat" panel mocks Western governments' hypocritical disarmament rhetoric while the chaos unfolds. The satire targets both China's political fragmentation and Western indifference to it.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Soldier Out of Luck China 1 geant’s tent "THE CHINAMAN: 1 join the army Tur Tur have you got? Turk Seroranr: armies— North, toe Cus aman: best? ‘Tie ten Tur Ciuxaman: Well, suggest an Serene recruiting ser want to What army? What SERGEANT Cin aman: armies I've lots of South. ..vou know. Whieh one is the Senceant: They're all ret- army, can't you? Turk Sencrants Let's see—(1e consults a@ list.) Well, the Northern Army is pretty good to-day. But it's a tricky way down armiy—it may be to-morrow. IT really wouldn't call it a safe bet Turn Ciixaman: How uit the Southern Army, then? Turk Seaceant: Well, that's an es- tablishment that’s been going Fig time. But the fallen off terribly lately and they don’t pay. you never can tell when OF course, take a jump. Cina it may Tue them a The they're all ab Friend of joined up with an army called — the Green Dragon Army. G prospectus, swell gilt-ed uniform and all that. [4 ed like the big army of the year. Well, sir, in a month that army had been bought up by the North Army, there was a general reorgan- ization and my friend found himself out of a job. Couldn't get a decent job anywhere else, cither. He's pulling a ‘rickshaw now. What do you want to for, anyl« Isn't any one of vod thing? Oh, Senceant it the mine the army Tir Cin aman: don’t know my Tire Serceant right? Put ‘er there! why Pm in Tur Cuinaman: But what wite Ts that That's army are you in? Me? I'm I'm sort of a The Senceaxt in all of ‘em Joe Leblang. (The whimsy pleases him.) 1 handle re cruits for all of ‘em. How NO REDUCTION OF OUR NAVAL COMPATIBLE AMITY “VM SO GLAD Vou vrren bout the Three ged Toad Fly ing Squadron? It'll close in a couple of weeks but they're cating Tue Ciusxasan: No—if I want something perman Buddy, there ain't You take get in this man’s war Pie Cirxaman: A hell of a war, I'll say. Tir Sercrant such animal. what vou Diplomat: 1N OUR REPLY We SHALL MAKE CLEAR THAT As TRUE ADVOCATES OF DISARMAMENT WE WITH THOSE IDEALS OF AND GOOD WILL TOWARDS WIKICHL WE NESTLY STRIVE, DROPPED IN, HUICTON CAN PERMIT FORCES, TIS BEING IN- | ILL: Is sl INTERNATIONAL sO EAR- VM ALONE LIKE THIS Staley Tuk Seroeanr: VI say But 1 don't want to sign y up under false pretenses. Tue Cumasan: Well ft a whirl at the Nor 4 chanee—huh guess Tl take ern Army Pake Just Hike SeRGeANT hey, listen to tl the pe Army has declared volun tary bankruptey. Owing to ick business, the Nort! ern Army will nore reeruits u furthe notice. In an effort to sim the war. all other g batt ments, hereby declared null and void mentis and ur hicular traffic woh . you're out of luck, Buddy Tur well, c'est 1] al Back to the Tu Ciuxaman: Ob guess SERGEANT c'est lagair. Drop in ag and I'l anything in a couple weeks see if there's ya Contain Henry William Hanem Vague 1 these modest Pine: One of which est girls? comicbooks.com