Life, 1888-02-09 · page 12 of 16
Life — February 9, 1888 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political and Social Satire from Life Magazine This page contains three separate satirical pieces: **"Skilfully Evaded"** mocks a bachelor's dodge of a woman's leap-year marriage hint by comparing courting humans to geese—implying bachelors lack the sense to recognize social obligation. **"Political"** attacks two figures: Chauncey Depew's railroad-to-public-office elevation, and especially William Maxwell Evarts, a former senator criticized as a "square cork in a round bottle"—good at dinner speeches but incompetent in governance. A secondary jab suggests the *Tribune* newspaper may flip its support to Cleveland over Hill, mocking Governor Hill's perceived lightness or insignificance. **"Sport After Labor"** depicts class exploitation: a grocer works an exhausted coal-shoveling boy, then offers him a quarter to shovel snow as "fun." The final panels show the boy's innocent joy at the coins, contrasting sharply with the grocer's cruelty—satire on child labor and wealthy indifference to working-class hardship. The overall tone is biting social commentary on political incompetence, romantic evasion, and labor exploitation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
82 A GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY AND HOW IT WAS SEIZED. SKILFULLY EVADED. She (single, of course): EVEN THE BIRDS SEEM TO BE HAPPIER RUNNING IN coupLes! He (a bachelor, suddenly remembering it is leap year): YES, MiSs, RUT THEY ARE GEESE, AND KNOW NO BETTER. POLITICAL. “Hello, Diogenes! How's biz? Let's go in . igs anit and have something !" HE sole objection we can see to the elevation of Chauncey Depew from a Railroad Station to Public Station is the conspicuous failure of that other post-prandial orator, William Maxwell Evarts, as a public servant. As a dinner speaker, Mr. Evarts used to be a round peg in a round hole. As a Senator, he is a square cork in a round bottle, and wobbles at that. * * * AN it be that the 7yzbune is about to flop and support Cleveland? Its issue of January 31st contains this editorial paragraph : “Cleveland’s boom may be bigger than Hill’s, but it has to carry more weight.” As a tribute to Governor Hill's lightness this is superb. SPORT AFTER LABOR. (Grocery Store—Hard-faced Grocer and poor Chore-boy.| RINDER: I suppose you feel pretty tired, Tommy, after putting in the ‘Ha, ha! Shall I let such a chance glide coal ? through my hands? No!” Tommy : Yes, sir. GRINDER: Well, if you want to have a little fun now, you can shovel the snow off the sidewalk. “Ah, poor fellow, doubly afflicted, “T guess it's time for me to resign my _ Innocence and joy. Twenty-five cents too. Here’s a quarter for you?” position of trust.” in five minutes! comicbooks.com