Life, 1898-02-03 · page 15 of 20
Life — February 3, 1898 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This *Life* magazine page contains a bird's-eye view cartoon of a skating rink, satirizing American social behavior and hypocrisy. The illustration shows numerous figures skating chaotically, viewed from above. The accompanying text critiques moral contradiction: the passage advocates cultivating "good people" and cheerful givers while acknowledging that enforcing morals requires "chastening work." It references **Consul-General Lee at Havana**, likely Fitzhugh Lee during the pre-Spanish-American War period, when tensions over Cuba ran high. The text mocks those spreading false rumors about Lee's safety and warships stationed at Key West, while noting that Cuban independence sympathizers treated him as "bait" to provoke American intervention. The satire targets both American moral pretension and sensationalism around foreign policy crises.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ners are the favorite lairs of the police, and policemen are skeptical of the principles of n brotherhood, — Be men and h love 1 Why you should re ause rk is vot a good 1 your bricks a shining Lord loveth a cheerful giver, and he whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth, With these pious aphorisms in mind, you may find it profitable to cultivate good people. Gur business requires cheerful givers; our os AN. Sed WORM'S-EYE VIEWS OF US. A. SKATING-RINK. morals compel us to do a chustening work. few axioms and rules of life y boy, and a bright, houorable essful career awaits you, and you may cheerfully look forward to the day when your children may wed the European nobility.” Joseph Smith, MORS prejudicial to Consul-General Lee are favorites just now with the distributors of false news. Gen- eral Lee has an interesting job at Havana, It the safety of was lately given out that a ficet of warships lay at auchor at Key West ready to start at Lis summons or whenever intermission of periodical reports from him gave cause for anxiety on his account. The more violent and eager Cuban sympathizers look upon the Consul-General at Havana asa large piece of bait which they would just like to see molested. Hero's wishing General Lee many happy re- turns to his native land, and meanwhile, all the xecurity and serenity that is consistent with the performance of his very important duties