Life, 1885-10-08 · page 1 of 16
Life — October 8, 1885 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "A Matter of Duty" - Life Magazine, October 8, 1885 This cartoon satirizes wealthy investors' hypocrisy regarding the poor. The scene depicts a well-dressed man (her lawyer) and woman in conversation. She notes it's "a bad investment since they have watered the stock"—referring to a fraudulent practice where company value was artificially inflated. The lawyer agrees it's cruel "not to water the poor things" during bad weather. The satire targets the contradiction: these financiers refuse ethical responsibility toward actual poor people, yet concern themselves with protecting their own fraudulent investments. The joke exposes how the wealthy used legal language to justify both stock manipulation and indifference to human suffering. The ornate border featuring classical medallions emphasizes Life's satirical editorial stance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
a? ly Kas pPeRlCaniis SVM ke Ten Cents S “Cory & Entered at New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. A MATTER OF DUTY. Her Lawyer: \T 1S A BAD INVESTMENT SINCE THEY HAVE WATERED THE STOCK. She: YES, BUT IT SEEMS CRUEL NOT TO. Her Lawyer; ER—NOT TO—WHAT? She: NOT TO WATER THE POOR THINGS, AND IN SUCH WEATHER AS THIS, PARTICULARLY. -_ NEW YORK, OCTOBER 8, 1885. NUMBER 145. gannvcnenas comicbooks.com