Life, 1905-04-27 · page 19 of 26
Life — April 27, 1905 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate satirical pieces criticizing American institutions circa early 1900s: **"A Dream of Justice"** (top poem): Mocks the "Beef Trust"—the monopolistic meat-packing industry that controlled U.S. beef production. The fantasy depicts these corporate "czars" imprisoned and suffering while the public celebrates their downfall, reflecting contemporary Progressive Era anger at corporate trusts. **"Relief"** (main text): Savagely ridicules the Rapid Transit system's response to public complaints about station congestion. The transit company's defense is absurdly self-congratulatory—bragging about killing passengers as proof of "safety devices"—exposing the callous incompetence of public utilities and their dismissive attitudes toward rider safety and concerns. The bottom cartoon and "Another Estimate" appear to be lighter fare about automobiles and conduct/misconduct. The overall thrust: satire of unchecked corporate power and institutional indifference to public welfare.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Dream of Justice. EHIND the bars The Beef Trust Czars Are weeping o'er their wounds and scars ; While on the street, The People greet Each other, saying : “It is meet.” Relief. T H Public, deeming itself ag- grieved, broke out fiercely, say- ing: “You do absolutely nothing to re- lieve the congestion at the stations !"° At this the Rapid Transit worm turned, “ That is unqualitiedly false!" it e: claimed, hott. “Yesterday we killed two persons. To-day we ha killed one and it isn’t noon yet. would you have? Ourcars are eq: with every safety device of demon- strated inefficiency, and we are adding others just as fast as careful experiment establishes their complete futil The trouble with you is that you want every- thing done ina minute. You have an idea that we should let our tracks fill up with people and then send our trains ploughing right through. You don’t stop to think of the enormous power that would require. In fact, you think of nothing By this time the Pubiic was pretty much abashed, and glad to slink away c PePa.sia you bring me home any fairy stories?’ “Did I! Here's a lot of books is- sued by makers of automobiles.” SO NEAR AND YET SO FAR, . By HB, Marriott Watson, Henry Van Dyke ters of Theodora. Another Estimate. (The Macmillan Company. $1.9 RABELLA yerson says “conduct is three-fourths of life."” Isanenta: Nonsense, Misconduct is three-fourths of life. A RIB ROAST—NOT RARE, comicbooks.com