Life, 1905-02-09 · page 9 of 22
Life — February 9, 1905 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Image:** "Eve of St. Valentine" depicts Cupid in plain clothes being sworn in for special service, likely satirizing military conscription or public service obligations during wartime. **"Birds in Strange Nests"** poem by Wallace Irwin mocks the unconventional lifestyles of wealthy or prominent figures—referencing John D. Rockefeller running a Sunday school, a Bishop operating a saloon, and Prophet Smoot of Utah (likely Apostle Reed Smoot) having "a single wife." The satire criticizes hypocrisy: respectable people engaging in contradictory or questionable activities. **"Overdeveloped"** cartoon jokes about a man who has developed such strong facial muscles from laughing at jokes that he cannot control his expressions, even during serious moments. It's a visual gag about forced cheerfulness or the physical toll of constant joking.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
173 M* ARMOUR may put the rates up ever so much on beef and all perish= able provisions, Uncle John may charge more for oil, and the gas monopoly for gas and nd the tariff may make clot dearet even than they are, and rents in Man- We shall be ur neighbors, but as for this paper, ric light, a hattan may go u . up, u sorry for it will be able, under Provid all the: a philosophy entirely undisturbed by perso nce, to discuss anxious concerns of daily bread with al anxie vertently the trusts have s eatrical Trust — whos cored us. agents are above depicted in the act of ren ing our dr, 16—is fc which guarantees us NF a rate a material increase in public favor as must result in an opulence more than sufficient to meet the cost of main- tenance, no matter how much Mr. Are mour and his friends may venture to mark it up. EVE OF ST. VALENTINE CUPID'S PLAIN CLOTHES MEN BEING SWORN IN YOR SPECIAL SERVICE O4 THE 1,THt Birds in Strange Nests. OHN D, ROCKE ER rons a little Sunday school, we DARE Bishop Potter runs a neat saloon ; )You -T | Make us J LAUGH ! Thus you'll see these gentlemen reverse the common rule Almost any quiet afternoon— Is it not peculiar, though, and rather startling news, =, Pa and libels, When a Bishop engiceers the bar and even fairy tale boldly opens booze, While a Bandit in the pulpit Prophet Smoot of Utah says he has a single wife, Quite he thinks, for married men ; Sy Meredith has larger views on partnership for life— S Ev Is it not peculiar that a Saint from Utah's wastes Should bigamy and trigamy forsw While t, quiet gentleman of literary tastes Declares that he is looking for a harem ? y man deserves from three to ten f G | a dec M . proud man, howe'er we try we cannot force you to Take ther Quite confusing, don’t you think, when you go tearing through, Off and le that Destiny arrang nthe stage for lightning changes. Kubla Khan, the Tartar, being tired of cutting throats, OVEROEVELOPED, Gets himself a Bible class for Sunday, WW VOU CANNOT GET AN EDITOR TO GIGGLE AT YOUR Joxes, Sanctus, after churchtime, throwing sermons to the goats, MASSAGE MIS FACIAL MUSCLES UNTIL THEY SQUEAK, Gets a liquor license out for Monday. NE GETS SO MANY FUNNY JOKES AT WH Wallace Irwin, 1T°S NO WONDER HE GETS ** MOLE LAUGMS AND HOWLS, AK. JOKE-BOUND,” SO TO SI comicbooks.com