Life, 1892-02-11 · page 7 of 22
Life — February 11, 1892 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This Life magazine page contains two satirical pieces critiquing animal welfare and urban charity: **Top section** ("Economy is Wealth"): Attacks the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals for interfering with Fifth Avenue stage horses' working conditions while ignoring their poor diet. The satire suggests the organization's "convenient piety" is performative—concerned with optics rather than substantive animal care. It notes the Fifth Avenue Stage Co. overworks underfed horses cheaply, calling this "cheaper than oats." **Bottom cartoon** ("Saint Valentine's Morning in Paradise Park"): Depicts a well-dressed gentleman distributing small gifts to a crowd of poor children. The satire appears to mock performative charity—the gentleman's generous gesture photographed or publicized, while systemic poverty remains unaddressed. The children's desperate enthusiasm contrasts with the casual nature of token charitable acts. Both pieces target hypocrisy in Progressive-era reform movements.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* LIFE: ECONOMY IS WEALTH. OW that the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals have interfered in favor of the Fifth Avenue stage horses, they may suffer less in slippery weather. But their rich diet will probably remain unchanged. The convenient piety of this company forbids running the stuffy old vehicles on Sunday; but the piety is not of the kind to prevent its making life an agony for the brutes that haul the ‘buses by keeping them in a half starved condition. Back numbers of the Maitland Express are cheap, but they are not nutritious. Old copies of LiFE give cheerfulness and vigor to a weary mind, but even LIFE could not fill a heart with sunshine that is supported by an absolutely empty stomach. Be- sides, if these horses were fed on Lire, they might show too much spirit and make unpleasant remarks about their owners. The horses of the Paris omnibuses are plump, well curried, and a pleas- ure to the eye. The Fifth Avenue Stage Co. buys the cheapest animals it can find, then overworks them on a starvation diet until they drop from exhaustion. This is cheaper than oats. 1 gave my seat toa girl in the bridge cars this morning. Fa: T: Did she thank you ? Hassetr: No, she didn’t have time. She fainted. REASON ENOUGH. “BUT WHY DID THEY BREAK OFF THE MATCH AT THE LAST MOMENT 2?” “ON, THE COLOR OF HIS HAIR KILLED BVERY- THING IN HER TROUSSEAU.” VALENTINE’S MORNING IN PARADISE PARK. comicbooks.com