Life, 1894-05-03 · page 1 of 16
Life — May 3, 1894 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# "A Public-Spirited Practitioner" This cartoon satirizes a doctor who offers free medical services to a neighbor, but with a self-interested motive. The caption reveals his true agenda: he's been practicing on a "snare drum" (likely a euphphemism for percussion or noise-making) for six months at the neighbor's expense, causing a nuisance. Now the doctor cynically offers free treatment for the young man next door—not out of generosity, but to eliminate the source of the annoying sound. The satire targets hypocrisy: the doctor presents himself as "public-spirited" when actually pursuing personal benefit. The joke exposes how people sometimes disguise selfish motives as charitable acts, a common theme in satirical commentary on professional ethics and urban neighborly relations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXIII. NEW YORK, MAY 3, 1894. . NUMBER 502. Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Class Mail Matter. Copyright, 1894, by Mircuett & Mittar. een ba " Ra ppt! A PUBLIC-SPIRITED PRACTITIONER. “Doctor, THEY TELL ME YOU ARE ATTENDING THAT YOUNG MAN NEXT DOOR FREE OF CHARGE.” “YES, AND GLAD To DO IT, HE'S BEEN PRACTICING ON A SNARE DRUM FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS, AND NOW I HAVE A CHANCE TO PUT AN ENP TO THE NUISANCE,”