Life, 1907-09-05 · page 22 of 36
Life — September 5, 1907 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This fairy tale parody satirizes **E.H. Harriman**, a powerful railroad magnate of the early 1900s. The riddle—"Why is Harriman not in jail?"—references public outrage over his corporate practices and suspected criminality that went unpunished due to his wealth and influence. The joke: a poor Kansas farm boy (likely representing honest, ordinary Americans) wins the princess by being the only one brave enough to approach President Theodore Roosevelt directly with the answer, bypassing normal channels. The princess's refusal to publish the answer mocks the idea that Harriman's real offenses were too scandalous for public discussion. The accompanying cartoon about Standard Oil Company and the "Aggravated" jokes mock wealthy industrialists' untouchability. The satire targets the Gilded Age problem of ultra-rich monopolists operating above the law while common people starved.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Successful Suitor NCE there was a great king who had a wonderfully beauti ful daughter, and one day when she was nearly seventeen came to her father and sa Papa, dear, I begin to believe I should like to. that is, provided it won't interfere with iny game “Certainly not,” replied her father. “I ar,my dear Nothing ever interferes with that except sudden death, and it is even rumored that they have a ladies’ bridge club crossing yx. By the way, what a chap do you want?” “Some one who is clever.” “Well, you yourself shall be the judge and decide the con test. Get up the usual question which is customary to pro pound in these circumstances, and I will advertise it on the landscape in the customary manner.” ‘The daughter thought for a moment and then wrote down “T will marry the man who can give the best answer to this t married bridge.” ve no question: “Why is Harriman not in jail?’” The next day the advertisement appeared in all the papers, and suitors came from all over. Now there was a poor boy who lived with his parents in nsas on a Shredded Wheat Farm. Every morning he got up and pruned the Shredded Wheatlets until they were ready to be plucked. And this and a yearly subscription to the Ladies’ Home Journal, being practically all the nourishment the faniily had, they were gradually starving to death. One day the boy came running in with the paper in his hand and said: “Mother, mortgage the next crop. Here is a riddle and T alone know the answer.”” “What makes you think you do?” asked his mother, suspiciously. For she was not up in literature. “Why, mother? Simply because I am a poor boy and we need the money, and because the Princess is waiting for me to marry her in order to give the story ending.” Such simple faith as this was bound to be considered. So his mother, giving him a new suit of home-made pajamas, bade him the customary Godspeed The boy did not arrive at the King’s palace until very late in the matrimonial season, as he came over the Baltimore and Ohio, but at last he got there. The last suitor in the kingdom was just leaving as he came up. When the king’s daughter saw him in the distance she said: “At last!” “What makes you think,” asked the father, “that he has the an- swer?”” “Because,” she replied, “he's the PUNCTURE AN AERIAL HOLD UP Jersey Bill (the bandit): your THE “COME ON IN, MA, THE WATER'S FINE, only man in Kansas who had the courage to stop over in Washington and show his answer to King Theodore, without being afraid of the consequénces. He must be inspired Come, young man, out with it.” ‘The young man whispered something in her car, with a con- fident smile. ‘Then she fell off the throne on his neck “At last,” she said. “1 knew it; Lam yours.” “What's the answer?” inquired her father, who, bein some respects like the common people, wanted to know: But his daughter shook her head. So did the young man his. “King Theodore made him prom- ise not to tell,” she replied. “ Hesays it isn’t fit for publication.” The Origin and Evolution of the Standard Oil Company A Poem in Four Cantos BY HENRY WADSWORTH SHORT- FELLOW Caxto I Lust. Canto IL Dust. Caxto TIL ‘Trust. Caxto IV Bust Aggravated OCTOR with the D. ‘T's? How is that patient Nersk: Worse; this morning he thought he saw a Sunday sup- plement ORD ALGY: I always say “Hats off!” to honest industry. Lapy Aucy: Very well, dear, but please don't add “Come to dinner.” MONEY, OR V'LL GAS-BAG. comicbooks.com