Life, 1887-03-24 · page 12 of 16
Life — March 24, 1887 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political and Social Satire in Life Magazine The main cartoon satirizes police corruption in American cities, likely New York. When a bridegroom's servant ("Bridget") discovers an intruder in the parlor, she summons "The Finest" (slang for police). However, the officer's first concern isn't apprehending the criminal—he asks if the suspect has "political pull" (connections), warning that arresting someone with political protection could cost the officers their jobs. This exposes how urban police forces were compromised by patronage systems, where political connections trumped law enforcement. The surrounding content includes humorous shorts mocking lawyers' greed, misspelled hotel registers, and pretentious Bostonians. Together, these pieces reflect late-19th-century American anxieties about urban corruption, class absurdities, and institutional dishonesty.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Bridget, on entering the parlor, finds a man concealed, and immediately summons “The Finest.” One of ‘The Finest": TERENCE, BEFORE WE FIRE, DON'T YOU THINK WE HAD BETTER ASK HIM IF HE HAS GOT A POLITICAL PULL, FOR IF HE HAS WE MAY LOSE OUR PLACES. GIVE-AWAY. H E was a bridegroom newly made—a wedding tourist he ; His bride sat in the waiting-room, as sweet as sweet could be Yet one would think that he had been a husband half his life, As on the register he wrote ‘J. Percy Newe and wife.” But as he raised his shiny hat, that showed no mark of age, A shower of rice fell from within upon the open page. “Enough,” the jeweled clerk exclaimed, and brushed away the rice ; “John, Bridal Chamber No. 4 (we charge him double price).” H. D. Coolidge. OM PEDRO'S venerable aunt, the esteemed and beautiful Princess Isabella Maria Ceonception Jane Charlotte Gualberta Anna Francis, | of Assissi Xaviera Paula d’Alcanterav Antoinette Radhaela Michaela Gabri- | ella Joachina Gonzaga is dead, and Dom has advertised for sealed proposals for a tombstone. NOTHING MEAN ABOUT HIM. AWYER: I shall have to charge you fifty dollars for my services in the | case. CLiENT : But the amount involved is only forty dollars. LAWYER: Well, make it forty, then. I'm always willing to do the fair thing. HAKESPEARE must have been eating chicken salad when he exclaimed | “ What's in a name?” “cc THEL, the General's been very civil, and detailed most of us for duty on his staff, during the parade and banquet on the Twenty-second.” “Dear! That's more like a club than a staff.” | wide, and all wool. ANSWERS TO CORRESPONDENTS. (A LA BAZAR.) AGGIE.—1. No; a yellow satin is not suit- able for street wear unless you have it dyed. 2. You should always ring the door-bell when visit- ing, and not use a pass-key. A, B. C.—Trim your velvet skirt with flounces of white Hamburg edging, and slit the waist up the back, so it can be buttoned in front. Regular Subscriber.—1. Certainly not. 2. Of | course, 3, Not much. 4. Yes. 5. No. 6, Usually. Daisy.—White chalk is good for red elbows; also stove polish. If we were you, we would have the graduating dress made with sleeves to come to the wrist. This will prevent red elbows attracting attention. Clara B.—1. Ni worn all summer. ; Seal-skin sacques will not be 2. Sash-ribbon should be a yard 3. We do not answer imper- tinent questions by mail. T must be discouraging to the fool killer \ to realize how far behind in his work he is getting. GOING UP TOWN. RAKEMAN (gently, but firmly, to old lady on elevated car): This is the | third time, madam, that I have told you that this train does go up Third Avenue. Op Lapy (anxiously): Oh, then, it does go up Third Avenue, does it ? os COMMAND OF LANGUAGE. CULTURE IN THE MODERN ATHENS. OSTON LADY (returning a borrowed translation of one of Balzac’s novels): Thanks, very much! I am so fond of Baizac. The other side of the Screen. THE FACT 1S, THE DEACON CAME HOME AT AN UNUSUAL HOUR IN THE MORNING, AND WISHING TO CONCEAL THE FACT, TOOK OFF HIS BOOTS BE- FORE GOING UP-STAIRS. comicbooks.com