Life, 1895-04-25 · page 7 of 18
Life — April 25, 1895 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This page features two satirical illustrations of **Grover Cleveland**, identified in captions as appearing "at the age of thirty" (left) and "on Pennsylvania Avenue of a Saturday morning" (right). The text beneath the left image criticizes Cleveland's presidency, noting he was born in New Jersey yet became President despite constitutional provisions against non-natives holding office. It mentions his "hard" work during administration, references Benjamin Harrison's presidency that followed, and suggests Cleveland is being called back to "straighten out Mr. Harrison's mistakes." The satirical point appears to be mocking Cleveland's potential return to office and the political turnover between these two rivals. The grotesque caricatures exaggerate his features for comedic effect—standard practice in *Life* magazine's political satire of this era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mr. GROVER CLEVELAND. AT THE AGE OF THIRTY, foisted him on the people of the United States as President. Although the subject of this sketch was born in New Jersey, he was elected President in’ spite of the stitutional provision that none but a native of the United States may hold that office. Mr. Cleveland tenaciously held on to the job for four years and then took a vacation. Among the most important and best things that occurred to him during his first administration was a wife. To achieve the Presidency and matrimony almost simultaneously does not occur to many people, and Mr. Cleveland was correspondingly pleased. The people of the United States had hired one Benja- min Harrison to do Mr. Cleveland's work during his vacation, but Mr, Harrison piled up pensions so fast that the country has been hard up ever since and Mr. Cleveland was called back from his fishing to straighten out Mr, Harrison's mistakes. The job has been a hard one and the country is becoming impatient with Mr. Cleveland for not getting the work finished. ‘This is Particularly true with the advocates of silver. LIFE: FAME, FAN is a fakir in the public street : Blocking the pavement with a gaping crowd : Playing clown’s tricks to stay the passers’ feet ; Catching their ears with clamor harsh and loud. While through the throng, with sad and downcast mien, Elbow their way the poet and the sage, Passing unmarked, unnoticed and unseen ; Only the fakir interests the Age ! Harry Romaine. SOME SPRING BOOKS. TT books of the spring season are not usually of either great merit or abundance, the tradition of the book-trade being that the time when people buy books of serious import is the autumn, when they are fresh back to town and are planning their ter’s campaign, which includes literary and reading clubs, as well as Christmas presents. Of course in the spring one expects to see the publishers sprout forth their good short fiction, books on out- door sports and travel, with something about Nature, which usually means birds, trees and wild flowers. The serial publication of the star novels of the year usually brings them out as books at theend of the magazine year in the autumn, There is no particular reason why a good book should not sell as well at one time as another—people read at all times, if they read at all. Neither is there any compelling reason why tops should appear in every boy’: hands on a certain day in early spring and dis- appear justas suddenly and mysteriously—but they do just the same. There have been long years of evolution and adjustment back of all conventional occur- rences that seew acci- PRESIDENT CLEVELAND. AS HE APPEARS ON PENNSYLVANIA AVENUE OF may safely conclude A SATURDAY MORNING. dental—so_ that one