Life, 1893-01-05 · page 35 of 60
Life — January 5, 1893 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Left Cartoon:** A child asks an adult why balloons rise and stay up. The adult gives a circular, nonsensical explanation—"it's caused by various causes; but the chief cause is caused by some cause or other"—mocking pseudo-intellectual jargon that sounds authoritative but explains nothing. **Top Right Cartoon:** A grocer assures a customer the cheese is old (implying quality/value), then asks his assistant to hold the cheese while he wraps it in paper—the paper being used to hide the cheese's actual condition, suggesting deceptive sales practices. **Advertisement:** Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. uses both cartoons as indirect satire of obscure explanations and hidden truths. The ad's headline—"Why Have You Not Made This Known to Me Before?"—promises transparency: their surrender values are "fixed by law and stated in the policy" with "ample assets," positioning them as honest dealers against industry opacity and fraud.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Purchaser: YOU ARE SURE THE CHEESE IS OLD? “7's CAUSED BY WARIOUS CAUSES; BUT THE CHIEF CAUSE IS CAUSED BY Grocer (cutting off a slice): Yes, SIR. JIMMY, COME HOLD THIS BITIOF SOME CAUSE OR OTHER, AN’ THAT'S REALLY THE TRUE CAUSE WHY!" CHEESE DOWN 'TILL I GET A PIECE OF PAPER TO WRAP IT UP IN! Why Have You Not Made This Known to Me Before ? is the question that many a man asks when he first learns that in ‘The Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., OF SPRINCFIELD, MASS. M. V. B. EDCERLY, Pres. JOHN A. HALL, Sec. he can insure his life, with the privilege of retiring, on any anniversary of his policy date, after the Comal first, with a generous surrender value in cash or in paid-up insurance. a3), oe Well, the Company is trying to make it known, and to publish to all, the fact that these surrender saeve| Values are fixed by law and stated in the policy, and furthermore guaranteed by ample assets. feud ASSETS; JANUARY IST, 1802 e0% cs 0 3 ceees evasive, ev eresevesvew es os eypenees $12,239,529.16 £92. LIABILITIES, JANUARY IST, 1892.......... 06sec eee e eee cece enn enn eeee 11,236,837.26 facture. teria SURPLUS (MASSACHUSETTS STANDARD)..........000:0000ceececuee eens 1,002,691.91 DAR. | Tremor! 47 Stee)” THON / CLINTON J. EDGERLY, Gen’l Manager, 10 W. 23d St., cor. Fifth Ave., New York City. comicbooks.com