Life, 1907-11-14 · page 3 of 20
Life — November 14, 1907 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the financial crisis of the early 1920s, likely the 1921 recession. The main cartoon depicts "La Fuselle" (Joan of Arc) escaping "the press of opposing people"—using the historical figure as metaphor for a nation under financial siege. The article "Let's Christen It" mocks how financiers gambled with public money during the crisis, comparing their theft to the "Roosevelt Panic." The "Grand Larceny Panic" heading suggests satirizing how wealthy men manipulated currency and credit while ordinary citizens lost savings. "A Frenzied Financier" depicts banking corruption through dialogue about jobs and "early bank runs"—referencing bank failures when depositors rushed to withdraw funds. The satire targets elite financiers' misuse of public trust and resources.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
\ We IL = ZY JEANNE d’R. d'OILYANS. No. IV-HER CHARMED LIFE “LA FUSELLE” HAS MANY NARROW ESCAPES FROM THE PRESS OP THE OPPOSING PEOPLE Let's Christen It “Fy HE Wall Street panics of the past have all had their distinct- ive names. Some of our af- flicted fellow-citizens have late- ly suffered losses. They insist that properly distinguished it would be called the Roosevelt Panic. It may be true that the President’s spectacular way of doing everything with a brass-band accompaniment may have frightened that timid thing called credit. It is even more true that the underlying cause of the recent trouble was the realization finally that our big financiers, the men who held the people’s money, were not faithful to their trust. They had come to regard the money in their hands as theirs to gamble with. For years they had been using it for that purpose without losing reputation, com- mercially or socially. What they were doing was practically the same as stealing. It was theft but in large amounts. The right name for the recent cri: The Grand Larceny Panic. A Frenzied Financier ELLO, Dinny, you look prosper- ous—got a job now?” “You bet, an’ it’s a good one! “What is it?” “ Gettin’ in early on de bank runs, an’ sellin’ me place in de line.” ey” All Serene THe Trust president pushed the button and the general counsel stood before him. “Have the books been burned?” “They have.” “Has the mortgage been erased, the bonds stolen and the safe buried?” “Tt has been done.” “Then announce to the Government that we have nothing to conceal.” Who Would Make the Worst President? HE announcement of the Prize Win- ner of this contest will be made in the next issue of Lire. comicbooks.com