Life, 1899-11-16 · page 13 of 20
Life — November 16, 1899 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several distinct satirical pieces targeting contemporary issues circa early 1900s: **Main Cartoon (top left):** A caricatured figure hunched over a desk, likely representing a newspaper editor or society columnist, satirizing the vapid nature of "Newport Society Notes"—gossip about wealthy socialites' trivial movements. **Vaccination Critique:** A serious editorial piece mocking compulsory school vaccination after deaths and illnesses in Newburgh, New York. Life argues vaccination may be beneficial voluntarily but questions forcing it on children when fatal outcomes occurred. **Times Satire:** Ridicules *The New York Times* for running "practical jokes"—likely absurd or fabricated society announcements—that mock readers and the subjects named in them. **Small Cartoon (bottom right):** "Self-Help by Samuel Smiles" depicts a man with a sign advertising "FREE LUNCH TODAY," satirizing self-improvement rhetoric by showing a hungry person resorting to scavenging. The overall page reflects Life's role as social critic, attacking pretension, medical overreach, journalistic dishonesty, and economic hardship.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE- 393 HOLLY: What is the difference between a man who lives at his mother’s, and one who has inter- mittent rheumatism, Totty: One is well all the time and has rooms at his mother’s—the other is well sometimes and has rheu- matism others. ACCINATION is so generally accepted in this part of the world as one of the greatest boons we owe to medicine, that a great many persons are wholly ignorant of its dangers and suppose that what little opposition there may be to it comes ex- clusively from cranks. The city of New- burg, on the Hudson, seems to be on the road to fuller knowledge. A news- paper dispatch from there on October 24 told of the death of a child from lockjaw succeeding vaccination. Another on October 27 told of four more children dangerously ill from poisoning result- ing from vaccination, All these children were vaccinated to comply with the requirements of school tiustecs, Vuc- cination may be a good thing for those who want it, and are willing to take their own risks, but it is hazardous enough to make the compulsory vaccination of school children in ordinary times, with fatal results, a fit matter for consideration by coroners’ juries. E is a rarcly magnanimous man who, when he has injured you, doesn't lay it up against you. FREE “DE LESSON DIS MAWNIN’ WILL BE PROM DE POPE CIAPTAM OP OOM PAUL'S PISTOL TO DE PHILIPPINES.” 4 “Special” tothe “Times.” Dwizht insists on abscnting himself for a day or two? These practical jokes of The New York Times on its readers are not funny: they arc not instructive: but they are distinctly ia mischievous from inviting ridicule to the Mr.and Mra. Ellsha Dyer, Jr., Miss Josephine People whose names are so untiringly Johnson and Miss Anna Stone returned from New Ndvertised. The first victim to be con- York this evening. sidcred, however, is the unsuspecting 7 " purchaser of The New York Times who ES, and 0 did Allic Green return to ads himself reading this sort of stuff. her home in South Pumpkins. And perhaps Hal Gompersis still keeping Newport Socicty Notes, Special to The New Vork Times, s NEWPORT, R.1.—Dwight Bramn bas gone to New York for a few , HIO is bound to have a representa- store at Bunkum Centre; but who cares? If Mr. and Mrs. Elisha Bramin, Jr., want to come home, why shouldn't they ? And whose business is it if Elisha tivein the White House. Which may havesomcethiog todo with the recently an- nounced engagement of a certain charm- ing widow to an cqually gallant admiral. “SELY-ELP" BY SAMUEL SMILES. comliclbooks.comy)