Life, 1903-01-22 · page 15 of 20
Life — January 22, 1903 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes a common tension between generations regarding money and values. A young man appeals to a father figure, arguing that if the daughter trusts him, the father should too. The father's response reveals the joke's point: he's worried not about character but about cost—the young man's spending habits or financial irresponsibility. The humor lies in the father's blunt admission that trust in romance differs from trust in fiscal responsibility. The daughter apparently doesn't care about expenses, but the father (who likely pays them) very much does. This reflects early 20th-century anxieties about courtship, class, and young men's financial reliability—concerns that transcended mere romantic worthiness.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
hae Ngee “OP YOUR DAUGHTER TRUSTS ME, SIR, WHY CAN'T YoU!” “ene DOESN'T CARE HOW MUCH A THING COSTS, AND I DO." comicbooks.com