Life, 1903-10-08 · page 9 of 20
Life — October 8, 1903 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top illustration ("The Departure of the Hucks"):** A satirical drawing showing multiple figures being swept away on flowing fabric/clouds, depicting what appears to be a social or political exodus. **"He Wanted to Know":** A political cartoon mocking a naive question about equality. A political orator claims "all men are born equal," but a skeptic asks why some men accumulate more wealth than others. The satire targets the gap between democratic rhetoric and economic reality. **"Strenuous Inaction":** Two poets debate whether fame is worthwhile, with one suggesting famous authors are too dignified to attend literary events—social commentary on intellectual pretension. **"In the Modern Jerusalem":** A brief joke about a man arrested for lacking diamonds—apparently satirizing materialism or social inequality in contemporary society. The page combines political and social satire typical of early Life magazine's reformist humor.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Copyright. 1909, by Life Publianing Co. THE DEPARTURE oF THE DUCKS. He Wanted to Know. “Whom the Gods Destroy.” OLITICAL ORATOR: All men are born equal. T]HE port of the Duchess of Westminster show a sweet, girlish face. One cannot help but feel sorry for her Grace in her determination to omit American women from her grand parties. We have a saying that you can’t keep a good man (Americanus bonus) down, or a rich woman (Americant opnlenta) out. It will be interesting to observe whether the British have enongh sense of humor to detect the solecism of calling a party grand from which the most diamond-wearing people history makes record of are omitted. Strenuous Inaction. “‘TQIRST POET: That's just like Fame! Seconp Poet : What's just like Fame? “She never does swoop down on an author until he’s got so old and sensible that he'd lots rather sit by the fire at home in the evenings than go to banquets.” Voice IN AuplENcE: Then why is it some men get more for their vote than others? In the Modern Jerusalem. “PID you hear of the excitement on the Lexington “~~ Avenue car?” Ste aia Saat re tees ~ “A man was arrested as a suspicious character because YES, BUT THAT'S TUE WAY THEY'RE ALL HAVING "EM TAKEN LATELY.” he wore no diamonds.” comicbooks.com