Life, 1906-07-12 · page 15 of 24
Life — July 12, 1906 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents two illustrated character types from Oliver Herford's satirical alphabet series: **"M" (The Methodical Man)**: A bore who speaks with excessive precision and planning, wearing down his listener with tedious, controlled speech. **"N" (The Newly Rich Boor)**: Depicts the nouveau riche—newly wealthy individuals whose poor manners and social incompetence are portrayed as an affliction requiring "three generations" to cure (the period needed for wealth to breed proper etiquette). The page also includes commentary on **tariffs and taxes**, using ironic logic to mock protectionist trade policy: the author sarcastically claims that since tariffs shift costs to foreigners, Americans needn't worry about government spending. A brief item jokes about **the Gaekwar of Baroda's** (an Indian ruler's) potential visit to America, suggesting recent reforms (muckraking journalism, religious revivals) have temporarily improved American society—though implying such virtue is fleeting. The closing **Clara/Maup dialogue** is a romantic joke about concealing deepening love through coldness.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LEP IE AN ALPHABET OF BORES M's a Methodical Man Who talks with Precision and Plan; N IS a Newly Rich Boor— An affliction that few can endure. Some cases, with care Have a care how you balk The stream of his talk And complete change of Heir, Take Three Generations to cure. Lest he go back to where he began. Taxes OMEBODY has discovered that two-thirds of Uncle Sam’s ex- penditures go for martial purposes, cither to prepare for wars in the future or to pay old scores left y wars in the past, and other $ are crying out that this is not a fair division of the swag, or pork. Indeed, they declare that the military fellows will have to take less, or else taxes will have to be increased. The astonishing circumstance, to the innocent bystander, is this seeming delicacy about raising taxes, If platforms, hot air, red fire and statistics can impart the character of apodictic certainty, surely we may not doubt that under our tariff the foreigner pays the tax, and that being the case, who carcs about mere details of budget? It isn’t our money that Cong) spending, but Europe's, and Asia's, and Africa’s, not to mention the Philippines and Porto Rico. Our withers are unwrung and the galled jade can’t help herself. Now Is the Time HE Gaekwar of Baroda talks of coming our way, in search of cus- toms and manners to introduce’ among his people, who live in India and need toning up, and though the joke about our having customs but no manners has had plenty of time to penetrate to his far comer of the earth, and will be duly brought to his mind the minute he lands with his baggage, we hope he will, nevertheless, persist, because, thanks to muck-raking, religious revivals, Jacob Riis and Upton Sinclair, we have our house very much in order and were just wishing somebody might happen along. We are a virile people and whatsoever we go in for, we go in for. Just now it is the good, the beautiful and the true, and for that reason the Gaekwar couldn’t choose a better time. To delay were to trifle with opportunity, A few brief months, and who knows but high finance and unexampled prosperity will have us once more? CLARA: Is your love for him growing any less? Maup: Oh, no. “But he complains that you are colder.” “Well, you see, I now love him so much more than I did that I have to conceal it.” comicbooks.com