Life, 1896-07-09 · page 3 of 18
Life — July 9, 1896 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis This Life magazine page contains two satirical pieces: **"Fables for the Times"** critiques street railway (trolley) companies. The text defends them against accusations of deliberately endangering citizens, arguing instead that accidents result from carelessness rather than malice. It portrays the companies as duty-bound despite public suspicion. **"The Dog and the Meat"** is a moral fable illustrated with a dog crossing a bridge. A dog carrying meat sees its reflection and drops the original piece attempting to grab the reflection, losing everything—a classic Aesop's fable warning against greed and gullibility. The trolley piece's defensive tone suggests contemporary public anger over street railway safety, a genuine progressive-era concern. The fable placement beside it may imply ironic commentary on public perception versus corporate claims.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOLUME XXVIII NUMBER 706 seldom tear up any street to such an extent that an able-bodied man who has devoted a few summers to mountain climbing cannot make his way through it. Those who are not thus qualified would better go around by other streets. The companies are not to blame for the inferior physique of the average American. Still less correct is the supposition that the street railway companies are directed by the re-incarnated spirits of Herod and Tamerlane, and that they have a standing rule that all gripmen and conductors who fail to run down at least one person a week shall be discharged. It is true that anyone reading a list of the accidents for the last six months might be led to believe these rumors, but in every case no one was to blame but the victim; he should have kept out of the way or secured safety in a cab at $1.00 an hour. The street railways wish to teach the average citizen care- fulness, and they will do it even if they have to kill him in the process. Itisa rather forcible lesson but it never has to be repeated —with that particular person, at least. Under these circumstances many persons would become discouraged, but the street railway companies are animated by too high a sense of duty for this, and they cheerfully pursue their course, knowing that some day they will reap their reward. FABLES FOR THE TIMES, The Children's Friend; GOO G00, AX' WHE’ DO DE DITTLE TOOTSE: The Child; OU, JUST OUT FOR A LITTLE RECREATION WITH GERTIE HERE. SOME MISTAKES CORRECTED. HERE was once a supposition that the streets of a city were made for the use and conven- ience of its citizens. This idea dates from the time when rings and pulls and jobs were unknown, > and patriots went <TSe, into politics for ~~ their country’s sake, not their own. Rural communities still cherish this theory concerning the streets, but in more enlightened regions it is recognized THE DOG AND THE MEAT. DOG with a piece of meat in his mouth was crossing a bridge over a placid stream. On looking down A he saw another dog with a precisely similar piece of meat that they are for the use and amusement of such corpor- ations as the electric light companies, and more especially the street railway companies. In some places there is an impression abroad that these companies deliberately try to shut off citizens from such use of the streets as they might get without interfering with the convenience of the corporations, but this is a mistake. They in the water below him. ‘‘ That’sa singular incident,” he thought to himself as he prepared to jumpin. ‘* But hold a minute! The angle of incidents is always equal to the angle of reflection. Upon reflection, I find that the other dog and the meat are only optical phenomena.” And he trotted on his way to Boston, without further thought about the matter. H.W. Phillips. comicbooks.com