Life, 1893-09-14 · page 13 of 18
Life — September 14, 1893 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes New York City's Broadway cable car system and its operators (called "grip-men"). The text mocks how cable car drivers prioritize schedule adherence over passenger safety, jerking people with abrupt stops and starts while ignoring those trying to board. The satire contrasts this with Western railroads' smoother operation. The cartoons illustrate passenger mistreatment: "It Beats the Dutch" shows a grip-man assaulting a passenger; "Running Up a Big Bill" depicts someone knocked down. The text references "Tammany government" (New York's corrupt political machine), suggesting regulatory failure. A separate joke about "Feminine Trials" shows a woman managing an unruly child (an "enfant terrible"), while another anecdote mocks poor beef quality at a side-street restaurant. Overall, the page critiques New York City's public services and Tammany Hall's governance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“IT REATS THE DUTCH.” HE people of San Francisco, Chicago and Jaytown chuckle when they observe how the cultured citizens of this haughty metropolis are served by its Broadway cable cars. The grip-men employed by the company are entirely above any considerations of the comfort or safety of the public. Their con- tract 1s to get their cars through on schedule time, and sometimes they do it. Whether they do it or not, they seem to take a fiendish delight in jerking people off their feet with abrupt stops and jerky starts. On Western roads the starting and stopping is done al- most imperceptibly. The New York grip-man seems to have bound himself by a horrible oath never to stop if he can possibly help it. His look as he passes a cr alk where a passenger gesticulates is a beautiful study in far-away- FEMININE TRIALS. ness. When two or three hundred prominent TAKING CARE OF HER SISTER'S enfant terrible. citizens have been murdered in attempting to board moving cars, the com- pany may condescend to take notice of this trick. Another merry jest is his strict regard for the company’s rule not to stop between crossings or on curves. This rule he n violates except in the case of intirm passengers or on muddy days. Why not put a few spotters on the grip-men as well as the conductors ? Or doesn’t the company care? And if so, isn’t there any authority under this Tammany government to make it care ? In any event, the people of New York should extend to the Broadway monopoly their apology for living. S* CGAY,” said the Regular Customer of the side strest restaurant as he stopped at the desk to pay his check, “where did you get that beef you are serving to-day?” ~ oo te “What's the matter with it?” aggressively asked the cashier, who - scented another kick. “RUNNING UPA BIG BILL.” “ There's nothing the matter with it; that's why I asked.” A — | comicbooks.com _