Life, 1907-05-30 · page 13 of 20
Life — May 30, 1907 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine features four sections of symbolic/hieroglyphic-style cartoon writing (labeled I-IV) whose exact meaning is unclear from the image alone—they appear to be encoded satirical commentary using pictographic symbols rather than standard letters. The right column contains prose pieces including "A Cause for Gratitude" (crediting Henry H. Rogers' influence on Standard Oil's public perception), definitions of economic terms (Good, Bad, Wages, Reputation, Income, Revolution), and commentary on peace and honor in international relations, concluding with "TELL the truth, and shame the Administration." The hieroglyphic sections likely encoded political criticism, a common *Life* technique. Without decoding key, their specific targets remain unclear, though context suggests Standard Oil and government policy criticism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
8 oil A SPRING 20RG (2.2 bg ES - RRR KA fore yee| R06 AYR ARERR Sere eS ERS AT OR ARE Porte SU RCE OLE ER * Rho ee ROR ROMER BY BREA QO BALE. LANA FF FEARS ES oR WLM RG OSER bain ass Cee x plorbettse sien eg tess — ABSD8% ae: yee abit ah 2 737 A Cause for Gratitude (In a recent address Mr. Henry H. Rogers stated that the hand of Providence had been noticeably active in shaping the destiny of Standard Oil.) ‘OW that Standard’s chief dis- ciple makes it clear that we were blind, And deifies the product that has been so much maligned, When they make the next assess- ment it would scem to be es- sential That we murmur with submissive hearts, “How very providen- tial.” W.F.R. Definitions ooD—We. Bad—They. Right—What we do. Wrong—What they do. Salary—Our wages. Wages—Their salary. Reputation—That which one is unable to live up to. Income—That which one is unable to live down to. Revolution—An event in poli- tics of which one rejoices at being the daughter, but ashamed to be the mother. Ellis O. Jones. Honor EACE with honor seems to be about as hard to procure as it ever was. One almost suspects Providence of having fallen down in this matter, and that the Prince of Peace should have been, not that merely, but the Prince of Peace with Honor. The difficulty arises from there not being honor enough to go round. If one nation comes off with all the honor it wants, some other nation is short. This naturally creates hard feeling, and disarmament is more im- possible than ever. It is a waste of breath to talk about disarmament. Until the world’s supply of honor is vastly augmented, no nation will dare go out without its shooting- irons. ELL the truth, and shame the Administration. comicbooks.com