Life, 1907-07-25 · page 12 of 22
Life — July 25, 1907 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"Annual Picnic"** (top): Illustrates a Standard Oil Company employee picnic at Sing Sing prison grounds on the Hudson River. The cartoon shows a seated figure labeled "WHEN HE WAS SAD," depicting someone eating at the event. The article describes the picnic's organization, food (including "lemon pies"), games, and notable attendees including Theodore Roosevelt and Andrew Carnegie. It's a lighthearted account of corporate recreation. **"Murder, U.S. Inspected"** (bottom): A satirical opinion piece arguing for a new government department to oversee slaughterhouse conditions and meat inspection. The author (Meyer Bloomfield) critiques current inspection standards as inadequate, suggesting the "Department of Horrors of Peace" as a sardonic name. He argues improved oversight could prevent contaminated meat from entering commerce—a reference to Progressive Era food-safety concerns.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“IEE = Annual Picnic Of the Standard Oit Company Employees and Attaches HE Standard Oil Picnic took place last Saturday under the auspices of the Baptist Church. The weather was threatening at first, but the. Rev. E. H. Harriman offered a prayer, and it rapidly cleared off, a charm- ing day being the net result It was decided to have the picnic go up the Hudson, and camp out on the beau- tiful grounds at Sing Sing. This pro- gramme was carried out faithfully. Mr. John D. Rockefeller managed all the details with great ability. He deserves the thanks of all. During almost the whole day he was the life of the entire party. ‘The only time he seemed sad was when the excursion boat came in sight of Sing Sing An invitation had been extended not only to Standard Oil employees, but also to all those whom the company had bene- fited in times past. This made a large After a magnificent run up the Hudson the entire party landed at Sing Sing at noon. Several hundred chorus girls were on board, making a lively and pleasant fea- ture. They were under the charge of a committee consisting of W. E. Corey and Anthony Comstock. Many thanks were tendered to this committee for their unflag- ging devotion to their duties during the entire day. Mr. Andrew Carnegie had charge of the hampers. The lemon pies he handed out were the best ever, and the ice-cream libraries were much admired. Several, indeed, tried to take them home, but they melted away too quickly. ‘The party rapidly spread over the Sing Sing grounds, some of them out of curiosity going into the prison itself and examining its quaint architecture Thomas Ryan, the Rev. E. H. Harriman and H. H. Rv -ers attendance. WHEN ITE WAS SAD Among those present were Theodore Roosevelt, Chaun Thomas Ryan and Andrew Camegie. kept outside. They said they did not care to see it. Some of the games were fine Depew, ‘Theodore Murder, U. ‘TIS. a comfort to learn that conditions in the stockyards and packing houses are so much improved that the stamp “ULS., Inspected” really stands for something. We can now tum with casier mind to an unreformed branch of the great American slaughter industry, the killing of men and women and children, and see if we cannot put that business, too, upon a self-respecting basis. The trouble thus far has been that in this department of our national activity we have had not only an insuflicient number of inspectors, but we have also confused them as to their duties ‘There should be no dispute on the point that the killing of huraan beings is an interstate matter and the business properly subject to federal supervision. It is therefore submitted that a new department be created in Washington with a special staff of trained men in the line under consideration. In the first place, a central office is required, because it is best adapted to furnish the American people with daily quota tions of the fluctuating value of human life. For example, when after a magnificent boom in rail or river disasters the grand juries fail to indict high officials for man- slaughter, men and women could be at once quoted at thirty cents. ‘The widespread knowledge of a depression in the mar- ket of these perishable commodities would help the planning about undertaking journcys. S. Inspected What to call the new bureau is a mooted question. The Department of the Horrors of Peace sounds somewhat derog- atory and unbusinesslike. A Race Suicide Bureau might imply volition on the part of the victims. Perhaps a good name would be the Depopulation Service, and its statistics would furnish a sort of inverted census. Now it is generally conceded that the greatest triumph of a accident is an investigation. The great business then of the new inspection is to ma! science of investigation and an art of the reports. Rubber stamps have in the past been used too carelessly, but of course the profession was only in its infancy. The people have a perfect right to know under what heading their friends and relatives have lost their lives, It is a Lore to be left in the dark on this instructive point. A catastrophe, U.S. inspected, should appeal to the most idious and querulous disposition. Can any citizen be so base as further to fume about life and liberty, knowing that under the new dispensation the violent removal of friends from the cheerful light will result in the enrichment of the country’: libraries with fresh achievments in the literature of investiga- tion? Let us speed the creation of the new department. In time the job of butchering our fellow-men may be worthy to rank with the Chicago stockyards millennium. Meyer Bloomfield. comicbooks.com