Life, 1905-08-24 · page 7 of 24
Life — August 24, 1905 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical pieces about animal welfare and social commentary. The main cartoon depicts a cynical dog at a fountain in Madison Square mocking a starved cur with a broken leg. The dog represents the S.P.C.A. (Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), personified as "the Little Father" or President Haines. The satire criticizes the organization's ineffectiveness: while the S.P.C.A. exists as a "fortress and defence," animals still suffer visibly on city streets. The dialogue suggests the organization is so occupied with its own importance that it ignores daily animal brutality—brutal truckmen beating exhausted horses—while the wounded animals languish unheard. The point: the S.P.C.A. needs a "Samson" (strong leader) to actually enforce animal protection rather than merely exist as an institution.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE- 227 the starved cur, wearily, glancing down at his broken leg. “It scems to me that the whole pith of the joke lies in that one word: * Pre aia “Tt de that title, you know, is not intended to be take It is used in the purely Pickwickian sense." “But,” interrupted a tottering horse, with a large ulcer on his shoulder, “if the president, the ‘ Little Fathe: knew of the these things could not be. We hor among whom, as you know, the gr fering pre like to think that perhaps he is blind, and cannot see what we endure.” “Who do you mean by the ‘ Little Father’?" “I mean the great and good Haines, president of the S, P,.C..A,"" At this there was a bark of derisign. “ And has he not ears?" mocked the dog.“ One cannot walk far in any direction without heari he sound of the lash. Believe me, horse, ‘ Little Father’ is so occupied in admiring the size of his own shadow that he has no time for further investigations.”” “But daily the people see our sufferings," sighed the horse. ‘* Why do they not help us?” . “Oh, the people are so tomed to such familiar sights as brutal trackmen beating worn-out, that their sen: have become calloused till, peradventure, there be five or ten human hearts that yet bleed for us,"’ pleaded the horse, “If they would only go to the ‘ Little Father,’ and tell him of our woes" “They do oc the dog grinned until he showed all his teeth. the poor things merely get en- meshed in a web of red tape, and their futile buzzings quite fail to attract the attention of the sleepy spiders."* Mrs, Wilson Woodrow. ntion. ed the dog with the twisted tail ; “but literally, ASW TO AUTOISTS. ISN'T THE OLD-TIME " SPARKING PLUG"? TH The Need of a Samson. DOG with a cynical twist to his tail sat before the drinking fountain in Madison Square, and laughed consumedly. fay Iask the occasion of this levity?" inquired a miserable, starved cur with a broken leg, who lay stretched out upon the pavement beside him. “Tam overcome with mirth at this serio-comic tragedy before me,” replied the other, when he could control his ufficiently to speak: n? UST, APTER ALL? voice “What do you me: languid show of interest. The lav g dog waved his paw toward Twenty-fifth Street. That is the headquarters of the Society for the Prevention of uelty to Animals. Gaze on it with awe Afr, Fly: GREAT HEAVI and reverence; for it is supposed to be the dumb beasts’ asked the starved cur, with a S$! ANOTHER CAS EOF THE BIG STICK, fortress and defence, Then turn away; thread with me A Delay. the streets of New York; see some of the sights I have ARKE: I hear your boy is a great athlete. Which seen; and you will laugh, cur, laugh as I am doing at the college are you going to send him to? very irony of that colossal stone jest.” Lane: Can't tell yet. We are waiting to see which “It is certainly very big to accomplish so little," agreed _college offers him the most. comicbooks.com