Life, 1901-04-25 · page 14 of 22
Life — April 25, 1901 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical commentary on General Funston's capture of Filipino insurgent leader Aguinaldo during the Philippine-American War. **The Main Cartoon (top):** Shows three scenarios—"The Insult," "The Duel," and "Reconciliation"—depicting how honor disputes were historically resolved. This frames Funston's deceptive capture (accepting Aguinaldo's hospitality before arresting him) as dishonorable by 19th-century standards. **The Article:** Sarcastically "congratulates" President Theodore Roosevelt for promoting Funston despite his unethical tactics. It mocks Roosevelt's admiration for Funston's "dash" and "slickness" over proper military procedure, referencing Funston's 1887 incident switching a newspaper's political allegiance. **Minor Jokes:** Include mockery of Impressionist art and a dig at college professors marrying into wealth. The satire critiques both Funston's deceptive methods and Roosevelt's celebration of them as acceptable strategy, questioning whether such tactics align with claimed American Christian morality.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE INSULT: “sin, 1 HAVE THE noNXOK To INFORM You THAT YoU ARE A srectrs or cow." “18 THE PICTURE INTERESTING, CLARA?"? “NO, NOT THE LEAST BIT, UE IS ONLY AN IMPRESSIONIST.” FRANCE 19 BAVED. Congratulations to General Funston. As Tuey Ovonr To Have Brey. rPuE President instructs me to express his high ap- preciation and lofty sense of Christian morality in the wily game played on Aguinaldo by General Funston, and the conduct of the latter is so much in accordance with the high principles of a Christian State that General Funston will be immediately appointed Brigadier-General over the heads of any number of West Pointers, whose slow and laborious methods of acquiring military experi- ence do not begin to equal General Funston’s ‘dash’ and slickness, “Ever since General Funston, in 1887, when he was assistant editor of a Democratic paper in Fort Smith, watched his chance, while the editor was away, and turned the paper Republican, the President has had his eye on him, “He knew that a man like Funsten could be relied upon to trap ‘the enemy,’ even if, by sc doing, he had first to accept his proffered hospitality, and it gives the President peculiar pleasure to reflect that he was not mistaken in his man.” Disproved. “AE can’t be a good business man. Why, he’s a college professor.’’ «But he married the daughter of a millionaire.”