Life, 1904-08-25 · page 15 of 20
Life — August 25, 1904 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces reflecting early 20th-century American anxieties: **"Question of Shooting"** addresses automobile safety debates. The piece argues that while chauffeurs and car owners oppose shooting at speeding vehicles, horse drivers and pedestrians—endangered by reckless motorists—support it. The satire criticizes the law's failure to protect victims and suggests a jury would acquit someone defending themselves by shooting an automobilist. This reflects genuine tension between new automobile culture and traditional road users. **"Small"** uses a woman's increasingly exasperated responses to mock various American figures: a plumber (representing tradesmen's inflated self-importance), a "Prohibition nominee for Vice-President" (political commentary on Prohibition era politics), unfaithful husbands, and finally—most bitterly—people boasting about European travel. The joke targets social pretension. **"Worth It"** is a brief gag about a man willing to endure cigar-induced sickness as a patriotic or social duty—the specific cause remains unclear from context.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ra 2 “ “WHY, MOTHER! HOW SHOULD 1 KNOW WHERE MR. WE Question of Shooting. TH present interest in using re- volvers on speeding autos has stirred up a variety ha + of opinions. Chauf- ai LAW W356 a fs re feurs and owners of —es”, ies oy automobiles appear em Yo, IW Yt to think that shoot- ee ary co a rot amy ing at passing ~~ omachines is an un- desirable custom, Drivers of horses, on the other hand, together with pedestrians and parents of small children, seem to be strong in the faith that the disabling of chauffeurs is a work of public safety. The protesting class is certainly in the majority. ‘The patient American seems at last to be waking up to the fact that security on the public highway must be ved by force of arms, The law gives no protection. at the victim must prove the rate of speed of the attack- ing machine is merely adding insult to injury—only mocking at calamity, If the driver of a horse, believing the safety of himself and others with him to be imperiled, were to shoot and kill an automobilist, would any American jury fail to support the shooter ? Small. 7 H°” small have you felt?” she asked anxiously. ‘Well, he replied, ‘‘I have felt as small as a man in the presence of the head plumber.” “That isn't enough.” “T have felt as small as the Prohibition nominee for Vice-President." She shook her head. “Or as a man when his wife catches him in a lie.” “Phat isn’t anything.” s “T have felt as small as the man who made a rightecus complaint to the president of a trolley line.”’ She shook her head again sadly. “That isn't anything to the way I feel," she said. “You know I have never been to Europe, and I've been talking with a girl who has just returned,” Worth It. “ QONNY, ain't you afraid that such a big cigar will make you sick?" “Well, sir, I, don’t mind bein’ sick in a cause like this."” comicbooks.com