Life, 1890-08-14 · page 7 of 14
Life — August 14, 1890 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 77 **"A Hard Problem"** satirizes Republican rigidity on political morality. A father asks if Harrison is "a good man"; the Straight Republican agrees twice, then when asked why Harrison didn't die young—presumably implying good men die young—the Republican admits ignorance. The joke mocks Republicans for blind party loyalty despite obvious contradictions. **"The Land of Liberty"** jokes about police hypocrisy: an excited citizen reports someone jumping off a pier; the police officer dismissively says there's "no law again bathin' with clothes on," implying the jumper was just swimming, not attempting suicide. It satirizes selective law enforcement. **"A Good Joke"** (right panel) appears to show figures sharing drinks in various poses, though its specific meaning is unclear without additional context.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A GOOD JOKE. One of the girls: Do YOU THINK YOUR PorMs ARE WIDELY READ? The Poet: Y ARLY EVERY EDITOR IN THE COUNTRY READS THEM. A HARD PROBLEM. ae p* is Harrison a good man?” STRAIGHT REPUBLICAN: Yes, my son. “ Pa, don’t the good die young?" STRAIGHT REPUBLICAN: Yes, my son. “Pa, why didn’t Harrison die young?” STRAIGHT REPUBLICAN (/# angursh): I don’t know, my son, why he didn’t. THE LAND OF LIBERTY. XCITED CITIZEN: Officer! Officer! A man has just jumped off of that pier. POLICEMAN (who can't swim): Well, there ain't no law agin bathin’ with clothes on, is there ? He: THE TROUBLE WITH JACK 18 THAT HIS INCOME 15 SO LARGE HE CAN'T SPEND IT ALL. She: WHY DOESN'T HE BECOME A HARVARD STUDENT, THEN ? comicbooks.com