Life, 1883-04-26 · page 5 of 16
Life — April 26, 1883 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "Carrying the War Into Africa" This cartoon satirizes British colonial politics. A visiting Briton complains to "Miss Wosalind" (likely a personification of America or a British woman) that American politicians are "blustered cads" and "wascals," while England is "governed by persons who wouldn't dream of inviting you to theirs." The joke targets hypocrisy: the Briton criticizes American political corruption while implying British politicians are equally unfit—just more socially refined about hiding it. The title "Carrying the War Into Africa" suggests this is political infighting rather than genuine international concern. The accompanying text discusses Chicago Mayor Carter Harrison's re-election amid corruption scandals, and critiques sensationalized reporting about a woman's beauty treatments—mocking both political corruption and tabloid excess.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
CARRYING THE WAR INTO AFRICA. Visiting Briton: Ya-as, Miss WOSALIND—BUT YOUR POLITICIANS—AW—ARE A LOT OF BLAWSTED CADS, y INVITING TO YOUR HOUSE. Rosalind: Tru‘; But in En ING YOU TO THEIRS. CARTER H, HARRISON was re-elected Mayor of Chicago a fort- night ago, by the criminal classes of that city, against the earn- est protest of every decent journal, corporation and firm in Cook County. His opponent's platformi was against gambling and the licensing of dives and dance-houses, even as vigorously as Harrison was for them. This decided the election, and the demigod of the Levee and Blue Island Avenue ascended the civic chair for his third term, Honor among thieves applies not to him, how- ever, for now, securely seated, he levels an edict aga‘nst such of the gin mills as paid no money for the ** cause,” while the leaders of the tough element are hugged to his bosom and given a voice in the government. New York has her woes and shames, but at their worst they are glories by the side of the degradation of Chi- cago, under the rule of this chosen one of the gambler, the harri- dan and the thief. Carter Harrison had made a record even before he went to the Iroquois Banquet. Aw, YOU ARE—AW—WULED BY A SET OF WIOTOUS WASCALS WHOM YOU WOULD: DWEAM OF—AW— AND YOU ARE GOVERNED BY PERSONS WHO WOULDN'T DREAM OF INVIT- Mr. Howe tts, in the last Aé/antic, has taken up one of his former heroines, and in speaking of the effects of twelve years upon her looks he says: “ The parting of her hair had thinned and retreated, but she managed to give it an effect of youthful abundance by combing it low down upon her forehead and rough- ing it there with a wet brush.” This is realism intense enough to make M. Zola anxious for his laurels, but it is a detail which Mr. Howells has erred in giving us. As a male person, not a hair-dresser or a man-mil- liner, he has no business to be informed of the precise methed by which Isabel at thirty-nine produced youthful effects with her front hair. It is enough that the effects were there. We deprecate all needless revelations of means and processes employed in the feminine toilet. Let the eulogist of James spare the illusions that Lady Dixie has left to us, and not make us so undesirably wise that we can go through a dry-goods shop without blushing. comicbooks.com