Life, 1900-07-05 · page 12 of 20
Life — July 5, 1900 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page This page satirizes **Peoria, Illinois** as "the meanest city in the United States." The top illustration shows a **horse-fly** (labeled "THE FIRST HORSE-FLY"), a visual pun on the city's meanness—a grotesque, aggressive insect. The text describes Peoria's unpleasant conditions: foul air from packing houses, a custom of celebrating rainy days, low buildings (supposedly built low because residents want to jump off roofs), and a melancholic social club for broken-hearted men. Below, an "Announcement of Award" reveals that Life magazine held a contest for the "meanest city" essay. The anonymous winner ("A Fugitive") earned fifty dollars by satirizing Peoria's industrial pollution, grim atmosphere, and apparent despair—ultimately mocking the city's reputation through humorous exaggeration. The bottom cartoon ("NOT WORTH A DARN") shows ragged clothing on a clothesline, reinforcing themes of poverty and decay.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
vuR PIRAT HORSE-PLY. Announcement of Award. PEORIA WINS. its issue of February 15th, Lire announced that a prize of fifty dollars in gold would be given for the best statement of facts which would prove that any particular city is the meanest city in the country. Thirty contestants have since that date jousted for honors in the columns of Lirz. and among these thirty one has captured the prize. The honor and money go to the author of *‘ Peoria.”’ In arriving at this decision, the judges set a general standard of Hum Originality and Literary Merit, and through an exhaustive process of elimination, arrived at the final result. For obvious reasons, the winner of the prize, under the pseudonym of “A Fugitive,’ does not desire to have his real name published. Herewith is reprinted the prize argument for municipal meanness! T* PEORIA, ILLINOIS. Peoria, Illinois, the dirtiest city in the United States, is situated within easy smell of several packing houses, three distil- leries, a glucose plant and a stagnant lake. When it does not rain in V the inhabitants. congratulate one another and exclaim: “ Vota vine day!" When the sun shines in Peoria, it is last week's sun just penetrating the soot. close, and the whole All business houses ommunity takes a holiday. ria streets with impuni e expected in a Hogs run The buildings in Peoria are low, because otherwise hundreds of citizens, made des- perate by their environments, would seek relief by leaping from topstories, Low structures decrease the mortality rate. . So mean is Peoria, that it has a flourishing ur Club, composed of men who are hearted over g in the place. The membership and the waiting lisp together are equal to the sane male population. The club is named after old Créve-Cocur fort, erected by La Salle and Tonti near the site of the present city. La Salle and Tonti were broken-hearted, because, after braving so many perils, they rounded up at such a spot. If you reside in the valley of Peoria, so thick fare the smoke and dust that when you ascend the bluffs you experience nausea from the compara- tively rarefied atmosphere. And if you dwell on the bluffs, you can venture below only when supplied with individual smoke consumer and compass, Peoria has had two distinguished inmates—Bob Burdette and Col. Ingersoll. Burdette on escaping underwent such a reaction that he became a humorist ; Ingersoll, while confined there, had implanted in him the firm conviction that there can be no hell after death, Having briefly touched this subject of Peoria, I must now go and take a bath, A Fugitive, NOT WORTH A DARN.