Life — August 23, 1900 — page 15: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon by Bayard Jones satirizes a railroad executive's apparent indifference to injury. Two women in what appears to be military or uniform dress observe an older man (identified as a railroad president) being carried from a train accident. The joke hinges on his refusal to acknowledge his injuries—the first woman assumes he must be a Christian Scientist (who believed in faith-healing and denying physical ailment), but the second corrects her: he's actually the railroad president, implying his denial of injury stems from corporate self-interest rather than religious conviction. The satire suggests railroad executives would ignore even serious harm to avoid liability or admitting negligence. The coastal industrial setting reinforces the business context.