Life, 1907-07-04 · page 15 of 48
Life — July 4, 1907 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This July 1912 issue of *Life* magazine satirizes American civic behavior through three pieces: **"Our National Anthem"** mocks how the patriotic public actually sings the Star-Spangled Banner—reducing it to nonsensical syllables ("la-la-la," "doo-dull") when they don't know the words, written by Rupert Hughes. **"Fourth of July Resolutions (By a small boy)"** presents a child listing destructive patriotic goals—making noise, annoying neighbors, eating ice cream, playing pranks on elderly women—all justified by his father's demand that he "be a patriotic American." This satirizes how patriotism becomes an excuse for misbehavior. **"An Open Letter to the President"** and related pieces critique social nuisances (cigar smoke in public cars, perfume at theaters, people reciting their own work) and automobile pollution in New York, referencing successful Paris regulations. Throughout, the satire suggests Americans mouth patriotic sentiment while ignoring actual civic responsibility and annoying their fellow citizens.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Our National Anthem (As it is usually sung by the patriotic public) I OH say, can you see by the dawn zurly light Whatso prow dleewe hail dat the la-la-la gleaming? Who sbraw stri psan bri stah sroo the perilous night O’er the la-la-la-la were so gal-lan-tlee strea-ming. And the rah-ket’s red (silence, save for a few tenors) bur-stingin air La-la through the nigh t-that our fla gwah still there. Oh, say does tha-at stah-spang-le ba-a-ner-er ye-et wa-ay O’er the la-an of the freeece, an the ho-oh mof thuh bray? I On that shore Ja-la-la; lala-la-la-la-la La-la-doo-dull-di doodle-day-dee-die-doo-dull ? Lala-la-la-la-la; lala-la-la-la-la? La-la-la (etc. for three lines; then all together) Tizz thuh stah-bang-le-spanner, oh, law-aw may Oh the la-an doff the frecece, an the ho-oh moff thu bi (Remaining stanzas by the band, with spasms from the patriots.) Rupert Hughes. An Open Letter 'O His EXCELLENCY THE PRESIDENT: Dear Sir—If you have time, will you kindly correspond publicly with the following people: The man who gives a tip on the market; The man who takes a lighted cigar into a public passen- ger car; The woman who uses perfumery at the theatre; The woman who jounces her baby up and down on ferry boats; The author who recites from his own works; The man who tells you about his trip to Europe; Fourth of July Resolutions (By @ small boy) TO.GET up as early as possible To annoy the neighbors as much as possible. To make all the noise I can To eat as much ice-cream as I can hold. To escape death if possible. To play tricks on others—especially timid old ladies. Why do I do this? Because pa says he wants me to be a patriotic American Arrest the Smoky Automobiles Recent dispatches from Paris say that the laws requiring automobil vent their cars from emitting obnoxious odors have been so successful that automo. biles will be admitted to the Féte of Flowers in the Bois de Boulogne this year.— Daily Paper. It is chiefly toa too indiscriminate use of cylinder oil that the presence of smoke and smells about a car is due. car, you may be sure that too much cylinder oil is being used. —Jee Tracy, racing chauffeur, as quoted in the New York Evening Post. Whenever you see a cloud of smoke following a W' AT has been done in Paris can be done in New York as soon as the proper authorities wake up to the need of doing it. The foul nuisance of automobile smoke is entirely unnecessary, and is due to indifference or incompetence on the part of the chauffeur. Whenever the police get orders to arrest the drivers of the smoking automobiles, automobiles will cease to leave trails of foul-smelling smoke in the streets and parks of New York. Discredited ITTLE ELLA: I’m never going to Holland when I grow up. Governess: Why not? “Cause our geography says it’s a low, lying country.” BB THE loss of Eden may be at. tributed to a pomological cause—a green pair and a red The college graduate who talks philosophy? apple, comicbooks.com