Life, 1894-04-12 · page 9 of 14
Life — April 12, 1894 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political Cartoon Analysis The top cartoon depicts a skeletal Uncle Sam figure balanced precariously atop an ornate government building, illustrating the satire's central complaint: the American Institute of Architects has failed to reform Uncle Sam's government architecture, which remains as wastefully extravagant as ever. The text criticizes the current Secretary of War and supervising architect for abandoning architectural reform efforts, allowing the government to continue erecting "costly monstrosities." The piece mocks ex-Senator Ingalls as a "statesman out of a job" and references Senator Peffer in similar terms. The bottom cartoon depicts a man outside a modest house, humorously illustrating class divisions ("one-half the world doesn't know how the other half lives") through his refusal to smoke indoors due to a promise to his wife.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ABOVE HIS STATION, TO LIFE. Boston, EAR LIFE, although I’ve taken you For seven years or more, T've just found out a horrid fact I had o'erlooked before ; I find you on the cover, LIFE, All—totally—unclad ; IT must confess I’m shocked and grieved At anything so bad. And there you are Lire waltzing round With some small naked miss ; Old ‘* Time” should be ashamed to play For such a dance as this. Now from your list cross off my name, Until you stop that dance, And never will T take you more Till you get into pants. A eloquent sentence from the sermon of a young and zealous minister: “Here stands Mother Church—one foot firmly planted on the earth, the other pointed toward Heaven!” J. We OW. RYCE: Algernon Fitz Sappy is one of those fellows who has more money than brains, isn’t he? Knowso : Yes, and he is poor, too. ‘LIFE: 241 OUR CARTOON. HE American Institute of Architects has been endeavoring to bring about some reform by which Uncle Sam's government architecture might cease to be worse than that of any other civilized country. But the present supervising architect and the Secretary of War have succeeded in staving off any such reform indefinitely. These two gentlemen, after a year of evasion, postponement, and clumsy dodging, have finally decided to stand on their dignity and let architecture go to the demnition bow-wows, So, while the present Secretary is in office, we shall continue to see erected over this helpless land those costly monstrosities that the government office alone has the ignorance and the effrontery to execute. “6 Wier can be more pathetic than the spectacle presented by ex-Senator Ingalls—that of a statesman out of a job?” = = “ That of Senator Peffer—a job without a statesman.” (6(-)NE-HALF the world doesn’t know how the other half lives.” Neither does the other half. “SAY, OLD MAN, WOULDN'T YOU ENJOY YOUR SMOKE BETTER IN SOME MORE. COMFORTABLE POSITION ?" “ PossiBLY; BUT YOU SEE I PROMISED MY WIFE THAT I WOULD NEVER SMOKE INSIDE THE HOUSE OR OUT OF IT, AND I HATE TO GO BACK ON MY WORD.”