Life — September 20, 1906 — page 19: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical cartoon about railroad safety and reckless behavior. A character named Otto Scorcher, apparently struck by a train numbered 23, complains that the railroad disregarded human life—while simultaneously revealing his own irresponsibility. He claims he was "trying to break a record," suggesting he was attempting a dangerous speed stunt. The joke mocks Scorcher's hypocrisy: he blames the railroad for negligence while admitting he was engaged in foolish, risk-taking behavior that caused the accident. The cartoon satirizes both industrial-era railroad safety concerns and the era's fascination with speed records and daredevil stunts, suggesting that personal recklessness, not corporate indifference alone, was often responsible for such accidents.