Life, 1901-07-04 · page 15 of 20
Life — July 4, 1901 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the contradiction between stated and actual reasons for attending horse races. The caption's joke is that people claim to stay late at the racetrack for golf (implying wholesome sporting interest), when they're actually there gambling. The accompanying story illustrates this hypocrisy through Mrs. Swimbleton, who becomes wildly emotional watching her horse "Tartarus" win—clearly invested financially rather than athletically. Her husband Sam reveals they've won "a hundred and fifty dollars," and she immediately suggests attending races daily. The irony: she was excited about *winning money*, not sporting excellence. The illustration shows spectators in formal dress at what appears to be the racetrack, capturing the era's horse-racing culture and gambling obsession among the upper classes. The satire mocks the pretense of respectability—people publicly justify their racing attendance through sports enthusiasm while privately motivated by wagering and profit.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AN IMPORTANT FACT. PEOPLE ARE NOT NECESSARILY GOLF ENTHUSIASTS BECAUSE THEY STAY LATE AT THE LINKS. 15 Tartarus was going like a runaway, with his crowd a ridiculous distance behind. His jockey had evidently given up the idea of trying todoanything with him, and he raced in a fulleighth of a mile ahead of the field. The victory had been so apparent from the first and was so one-sided that it was greeted with apathy by the crowd. es 8 « OT so by Mrs.Swim- bleton. At the start she had risen to her feet with the rest, and with the glass saw the white and blue spots come to the front. Without removing her gaze she stepped up on her chair, and the color in her cheeks came and went with excite- ment. She was riding Tar- tarus every inch of the distance. As he came nearer she handed the glass to Sam, and pressed her tightly- clenched hands into her chin. Her eyes bulged, and the veins in her temples stood out almost to the bursting point. Sam finally touched her on the arm and said something about not getting soexcited. Let me alone,” she gasped, her eyes still fixed on the speeding Tartarus. Finally, as he crossed the line, she dropped her and with what little br remained to her e: med, “Sam, wasn’t that the most exciting race you ever saw!”” “Well, no,” said Sam, deliberately ; ‘not exactly the most exciting, but still it wasa very good race—for us. We winahundred and fifty.” “A—hundred—and—fifty —dollars!” said Mrs. Swim- bleton incredulously.“‘Why, Sam, you don’t mean it! Let's come to the races every day.” “T guess not,” said Sam, as heturned and saw that Jimmy Seadden, whom he had favored in his own heart, finished eleventh. James S. Metcalfe.