Life, 1902-01-23 · page 5 of 20
Life — January 23, 1902 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political Cartoon Analysis: "Another Sacrifice" This cartoon satirizes the **New York Central Railroad** and its financial practices. The grotesque figure labeled "The Public Be Damned" clutches a bloated railroad magnate holding bags marked "Dividends" and "Economy." Two demonic creatures below—likely representing corporate greed or mismanagement—feed on piles of skulls and wreckage, symbolizing the human cost and destruction caused by the railroad's operations. The phrase "The Public Be Damned" references a famous 1883 statement by William Vanderbilt (railroad tycoon), who allegedly said exactly that when defending the railroad's self-interest over public welfare. The cartoon criticizes how railroads prioritized shareholder profits and executive compensation while endangering public safety and workers' lives. The skulls emphasize deaths caused by railway accidents or exploitation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Naw Fechelle . ANOTHER SACRIFICE, Extremely Secret. J : The widow says that her ii x 4 a a Dette aocres Ow eaye. Cnt: Hex mnarrigge ty Goterg N ODD: Every timo I hear that minister, it makes me want to be a better man. Isnt: It must have been. Gobang himself did not men- Mrs. Topp : Why don’t you go to hear him oftener? tion the widow in his will, so he could not have known of the wedding. ‘But I don’t want to lose all my self-respect.” comicbooks.com