Life, 1928-10-19 · page 19 of 40
Life — October 19, 1928 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This political cartoon depicts a dark figure (likely representing Mussolini, given the accompanying article's focus on Italian leadership) being tormented by allegorical figures labeled "South," "West," and "East." The cartoon satirizes Italy's difficult geopolitical position and internal challenges. The article discusses Mussolini's forward-looking policies but critiques his vision as potentially dangerous. It argues that while Mussolini seeks territorial expansion and national efficiency, Italy lacks the population and resources to sustain such ambitions. The "unhappy warrior" title suggests the futility of his aggressive stance. The surrounding text references Italy's overcrowded populations, colonial ambitions, and the tension between Mussolini's grand vision and Italy's actual capabilities—a prescient commentary on the tensions that would define fascist Italy's trajectory.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ything velop apparently he has not looked, and while Mr. Raskob is beside him he is not likely to look, at the implications of the in- stallment plan, which has brought us un- exampled prosperity, and may some day bring us unexampled misfortune. Os the other hand, a statesman should not only look ahead, but see straight. Mussolini's latest looking ahead leads him to be greatly concerned about the decay of the Occidental birthrate. “The yellow and black races are at our doors”—an argument which the Kaiser employed thirty years ago for purposes of his own, and which Mussolini uses with equal ingenuity. A year or two ago he was complaining that the overflowing popu- lation of Italy needed more territory; now he tells us that Italy needs more popula- tion, “Sixty million Italians would make their weight felt in the history of the world.” In other words, if our population does not overflow enough now to justify a demand for more territory, let us see that it overflows as soon as possible. No doubt that argument will be much ap- The Unhappy Warrior plauded in Italy, where criticism of Mus- solini sends men to jail; but abroad it has failed to rouse much enthusiasm. There is certainly a potential peril to the West in the overcrowded populations of Asia; but the remedy is not to overcrowd the West, and reduce Italy and France to the Chinese standard of living. Mussolini not only looks ahead, he looks back; and here too his vision seems a little faulty. When he draws the picture of cities draining the life from the coun- tryside, of an old and decadent nation “alling a prey to younger peoples knock- ing at its deserted frontiers,” he seems to be thinking of Rome. Well, the historians know that the Germans who disrupted the Roman Empire were far outnumbered by the Romans; but the Germans were willing to fight and the Romans, in the main, were not. To the average Roman, the Empire had become an_ institution too burdensome and oppressive to be worth fighting for. Mussolini, as he builds up Italian efficiency at the cost of everything else, might find it profitable to remember that. Elmer Davis. —Life Lines— Rome, according to an A. P. dispatch, is the noisiest city in the world. This is due, of course, to the fact that Mussolini is now conducting a whispering campaign. aL To political golfers who dig u too much dirt: ‘Please replace the bigots.”* LL “East Gvesturr, room and meals for gentle- men or couple; also girl to share room; reason- ble.""—San Antonio Express. Sut’p have to be. LL In Texas there is a campaign for municipal ownership of electric power plants. We offer the campaign slogans “Own your own ohm.” L Aw announcement by Mr. Otto H. Kahn states that “the principal issue now before us is a Republican Administration under Hoover or a Democratic Adminis- tration under Smith.” Thus are refuted the cynics who proclaim the lack of a gen- uine issue in the campaign. comicbooks.com