Life, 1903-04-16 · page 14 of 22
Life — April 16, 1903 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct satirical pieces targeting American society circa early 1900s: **"A Tie Up on the Bridge"**: A humorous letter from "Jim" to a friend, boasting about marrying a millionairess while sending money from his book royalties. The satire mocks social-climbing and mercenary marriages among the wealthy. **"Life's Fashions"**: The top cartoon ridicules formal dinner dress codes by suggesting absurdly exaggerated alternatives—the figure wears an enormous Elizabethan-style ruff and holds a wine glass, satirizing the pretension and discomfort of high-society dress conventions. **"Real People: The Devil"**: The main article uses personification to satirize American corruption and vice. It cleverly suggests the Devil has relocated his "headquarters" to Chicago and now runs newspapers, controls legislators, and operates a political machine—implying that contemporary American institutions (media, politics, religion) are inherently corrupt or controlled by corrupt forces. The final jab at Christian Science and patent medicine suggests gullible Americans accept fraudulent "cures." All three pieces mock American materialism, hypocrisy, and social pretension.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Tif UP ON THE BRipoe. of you to stand by me. I send you a registered package by this mail containing ten thousand dollars, being part of the royalties on my new book, Seeing Life. More to come, This week I marry a millionairess. But don’t you mind. She’s respectable. Yours, Jim. —— Tom Masson. [* Society one must put gloves on one’s words too, Real People. THE DEVIL. TPE DEVIL is one of the most important personages of - ancient or modern times. He began to attract attention in the Garden of Eden, but now his headquarters are in Chicago. One of t culiar things about him is that while no one has y a great many have raised him. He has a large personal following, not only among out-and-out sinners, but some of his most important work has been d church people. He stimulated some of the missionaries Chinese mission, and brought on a delightful little war in whieh he came out a handsome victor. He has a branch office in every city, and if it were not for his splendid constitution, he would un- stionably break down, On the contrary, however, his work ns to agree with him, “Plenty of work, but no worry,” is his == ae motto. PESTBIOS He has a political machine of his own, runs several important newspapers, controls several legislators, and is present at every church conference. The Devil has no vices. He touches rum, nor smokes cigarettes, nor attends meet ings of the W.C.T.U At present he is engaged upon a new Edu- cational System, which he thinks will do more harm than any we have yet had. ‘The Devil has often been urged by some of his friends, the publishers, to write a book, but has always refused. Ly monument,” he says justly, “must lie in my work. [am self-made, but not so vain about it that I wish to rush into print. I have plenty of admirers as it is, and I am satisfied that by pressing my own modest line of work, I shall not have lived in vain, and, somehow, I feel that I shall always have my due.” The present address of His Majesty is “Care of W.R. Hearst, The Chicago Ame can.” Cable address, ‘Sunny Nick.” A SUUGESTION TO VARY THE MONOTONY OF THE PRESENT DINNER DRESS. 8 ~OME people prefer to take their patent medicine in the form of Christian Science. “A WANDERER ON THE PACE OF THE EARTH.” comicbooks.com