Life, 1900-05-24 · page 1 of 20
Life — May 24, 1900 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political Cartoon Analysis: "The Wave of Prosperity According to Mark" This May 24, 1900 Life magazine cartoon satirizes the concept of economic prosperity during the McKinley administration. The central figure—a bloated, well-dressed man labeled "TRUST"—floats contentedly in water marked "PROSPERITY," wearing a top hat and holding a cigar. He appears oblivious to the drowning figures (labeled "CONSUMER") struggling in the same waters around him. The satire's point is clear: while trusts and wealthy monopolists enjoy the claimed economic boom, ordinary consumers are being exploited and figuratively drowned by rising prices and unfair corporate practices. The cartoon criticizes the gap between official claims of shared prosperity and the actual suffering of average Americans under monopolistic business practices prevalent in the Gilded Age.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
NEW YORK, MAY 24, 1900. NUMBER 9165, Entered at the New York Post Office as Second-Ciass Mail Matter, Copyright, 1900, by Lirg PUBLISHING ComPANY. THE WAVE OF PROSPERITY ACCORDING TO MARK. comicbooksseom