Life — March 22, 1900 — page 13: what you’re looking at

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

An Important Question ! HICH is the meanest city in tho United States? This is an important question, and one that Lire would like to havo definitely settled, With that object in view, wo offer A Prize of Fifty Dollars in Gold for tho best statemont of facts which prove that any particular city is the meanest ono in this country. THE AUTOMOBILE PUNCTURE, Conditions, Competitors must Hmit thelr arguments to three hundred words each. Write on one side of the paper only. The contest will close May Ist, 1900, and the awnrd will he made as soon thereafter aa the respective merits of the arguments can be determined, ‘The winning argnment will he printed, together with auch others as may seem to Livk worthy of that distingutsbed honor, Names and addresses of the writers shonid accompany all manuscripts, In ho case. will these be printed without the permiaxton of the sender. Those who desire thelr manuscripts returned shonid enclose u stamped and addressed, return envelope. Fach mannscript. may bear a psendonym, which will be printed with the argument. The Ealtors of Lik wre to be the sole judges of the merits of the argument. PHILADELPHIA, Tho only way in which wo can arrive at any adequate conception as to static mean- ness of any city is to compare it with an individual. A city is mean in 80 far as It is human, and tho quality of its meanness depends upon its human properties, Now tho meanest man we know of his no vices, and that is Philadelphia to tho core, Philadelphia never does anything. Noth- ing ever happons in Phiwlelpbia, While New York, Chicago, B»-ton and others are up and about, doing stunts on the map, throwing mud at each other, suffering from PHILADELPHIA.