Life, 1907-08-01 · page 23 of 48
Life — August 1, 1907 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon depicts a chaotic seaside scene welcoming a summer boarder to "Stony Crest Landing," with townspeople in disarray—likely satirizing the commercialization and social disorder of resort culture. The accompanying essay is a scathing critique of American complacency and materialism. The author argues that Americans get exactly what they deserve because they *want* it: Standard Oil monopolies, railroad accidents, child labor, tenement housing, and corruption in high places. The satire's point: rather than blaming external forces, Americans should recognize their collective complicity. The wealthy are spiritually bankrupt (pursuing shallow clubs and bridge circles instead of helping poor children), and society tolerates mediocrity because it's convenient. The author suggests this can change—but only if Americans genuinely *demand* honesty, virtue, and the "simple life" instead of accepting the status quo. It's a damning indictment of Gilded Age materialism and apathy dressed as social commentary on personal responsibility.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
pi) fete ot UTES? | THE RECEPTION COMMITTEE WELCOMES THE FIRST SUMMER BOARDER TO STONY CREST and wants to work his brain away to keep her in good clothes; if he wants to neglect his children and leave their care to others; if he wants to eat adulterated food, listen to adulterated sermons, read cheap and trashy and hastily written books, he always gets what he wants. There's no use for a few people in the minority to cry because there’s so little honesty in the high places; because cruelty and indifference to others’ rights go their royal way serene and undis- turbed. If we ted an income tax to-morrow, we would get it. If we wanted clean, wholesome, well-ventilated schools, we would have them. If we wanted slowly written, genuine art works of literature, we would get them. Createa demand for honesty, and some inventive genius will supply it Create a demand for civic virtue, and factories will turn it out over night. Create a demand for the simple life, and you can buy it for a song on any What We Want HE people of this country wanted the Standard Oil Company, and they got it. They wanted rail- road accidents, and they got them. They wanted slavery, and they got it, and when they got tired of it, they got rid of it. They wanted Car- negie and his tariff, and they got it! They wanted child labor, crowded tenements, con- gested schools, crooked insur- ance companies, high-priced surgeons, hypocritical vivi- sectionists, Wall Street jug- 0) glers and rotten excursion boats, and they got them. In this little world of ours, we are pretty likely to get what we want, if we keep at it. If a man wants to be a drunkard more than he wants not to be, then he usually gets what he wants. If he wants to marry an extravagant street corner. freon rs neon a. LANDING If all the hys semihysterical and ordinary-fad women of the country, instead of running around, constantly joining new clubs and forming new bridge circles, would put their minds to- gether for six months or so on the educa- tion and physical equipment of all the poor children—if these women would just be sorry for awhile—then the little white slaves of the South would melt away like snow in Apri Why is it that we are the richest people on the face of the earth? Because we want to be. Why is it that our senti- ments are cheap, our egotism is so self- complacent, our cruelties are so tawdry, our art is nothing-better-than-horse-play, our religion a makeshift? Because we have ordered these things tha The existing order of things is good enough for us. We wanted it. We got it. Andwhenwe get tired of it, we will change it. We'll nurse our children and stop spoiling them. Also, we'll stop being nervous. comicbooks.com