Life — July 23, 1896 — page 13: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

*LIFE-> 593 readers full details of the private life of CHESS TERMS. one of our most prominent citizens.” “You surprise me,” said the philos- opher, as he once more took up the paper and pointed his bony finger at some glaring illustrations, one a picture of a horrible deformity, another the face of a statesman who had just died, taken immediately after death, and a series of reproductions entitled ‘Fun in the Morgue.” ‘* These are very distasteful to me, personally. Still, I may n t be the best judge. Are they what the public wants ?” “Surely,” replied the edits. “We are not in the business for our health. These pictures, I assure you, are the delight of all who see them.” “You astound me,” replied the phil- osopher. ‘* One more question before I go. Most of my life has been passed in seeking the truth, and I notice in read- ing your paper to-day that the truth is not always adhered to. I am not offend ing you, am 1?” “Not at all,” replied the editor, smiling, ‘*] would as soon be called a liar as not. You see, Iam in the business for what c= cash there is in it.” “Then I may say,” continued the philosopher, “that after a diligent search I have scarcely been able to discover any facts at all, and these appear to have statements, showing a lamentable lack of knowledge, or else they are been inserted by accident. Most of the articles are mis- veiled in flippancy of speech, and consist of covert innuendoes intended —— - to give wrong impressions. Is this, then, what the public wants?” “Certainly,” responded the editor. ‘That is what gives the paper its picturesqueness. Facts are nothing to us, but it is the way in which a thing is put. To attract attention is the prime requisite. That is why filth, scandal and colored monstrosities help us to keep up our circulation.” “And yet," said the philosopher to himself as he went down in the elevator, “I have such faith in the public I would be willing to stake my reputation that it doesn’t want anything of the sort.” RYAN'S speech won him the nomination ; everybody admits that. Careful people have been wont for the last five years to decry the tendency of our college youth to play football, and the rise of the intercollegiate oratorical contest has been lauded as a return from violence to the paths of peace. Ho, good people, how you have fooled yourselves! Behold Bryan, and say if there is not more mischief in one orator than in all the football players that ever were! eae PROOF AGAINST TEMPTATION. RS. BROWN: Mrs. Smith is a woman of remarkable strength of mind. Mrs. Jones: Is she? “Yes, She never buys anything she doesn’t want,” F the New York baseball team is not careful, it will fail to reach the 7 Louisvilles before the end of the sea- THE QUEEN'S NIGHT. son. comicbooks.com