Life, 1897-07-01 · page 7 of 20
Life — July 1, 1897 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 7 This page satirizes American regional attitudes and pretensions. The upper illustration depicts a social scene where someone proposes to "Miss Swift," with the caption establishing tension about proper etiquette between classes or regions. The main text discusses how different cities—Philadelphia, Boston, and Chicago—cultivate distinct self-images. Philadelphia claims refined domesticity; Boston prides itself on "intelligent" culture; Chicago boasts being a "paradise of tramcars" and "splendid Chaos." The satire centers on **Abner McKinley** (President's brother), apparently visiting from the Midwest. The text mocks how Easterners patronize Westerners as unsophisticated, while acknowledging Chicago's actual vitality. The humor targets regional snobbery and provincial attitudes about American identity and manners during the early 20th century.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
side.” The elevated rail- road and the cable-car system (at which natives are always railing) excite his unbounded admira- tion. Even Philadelphia, which is not over-praised at home, arouses the en- thusiasm of Mr. Steevens as ‘beyond all things a civilized city"—because § people there own their own brick houses and are not always in a hurry. Boston is rather loftily patronized as ‘*a paradise of tram- cars" and the home of “intelligent, re- fined, golden medioc- ity,” which is hardly taking Boston at her own estimate of herself. When he comes to Chicago he lets loose a battery of adjectives in order to do justice to ‘her splendid Chaos." The apostrophe opens with a blazing rocket—‘Chi- cago, queen and gutter- snipe of cities, cynosure and cesspool of the world!" Chicago will fairly revel in that. She does not mind being called a cesspool—so long as it is coupled with the statement that it is the biggest cesspool in the world! * * * MOTHER FIRST OR NOT. “IT WOULDN'T BE UT even Chicago pales before Abner McKinley—the The fact that Mr. Steevens fell President's brother. “AND TO THINK THAT FOR THREE YEARS I'VE BEEN THE BEAU BRUMMEL OF THIS YARD!" “IF 1 SHOULD PROPOSE TO YOU, MISS SWIFT, 1 WOULDN'T KNOW WHETHER TO SPEAK TO YOUR CESSARY IF YOU ADDRESSED ME FIRST.” in with brother Abner riding in an ordinary smoking-car— “‘larking with provincial newspaper reporters and slapped on the back by the conductor of a railway train"—gave his intellect a severe wrench, He asserts that if his fellow- Englishmen can understand ¢hat, they will ‘be a good step towards the comprehension of the United States of America.” Brother Abner as the solution of the riddle of democracy is a spectacle to make thoughtful Americans tremble. . Moreover, we grieve to state that ‘‘his trousers were tight; so obviously were his boots""—but brother Abner wasn’t. - Of course the b6ok contains the usual allusions Y\ to American ice-water, baggage-checks, high- buildings and beautiful but nervous women. But h having launched brother Abner as the reposi- : tory of the Cosmic secret, the author can rest on his laurels for originality. Droch, E are apt to forget that the value of advice, like that of other commodities, is governed by the law of supply and demand. EL USBAND: Do you need anything for the house ? Wire: The cook says there is not enough china to last the week out. comicbooks.com