Life, 1907-11-14 · page 8 of 20
Life — November 14, 1907 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a dialogue cartoon titled "Sanctum Talks" depicting a conversation between an older, well-dressed man and the personified figure of "Life" (shown as a cherub/baby in a mirror). The satire mocks wealthy financiers who closed their doors during a banking crisis, claiming they couldn't fulfill financial obligations. The older man defends the "President and directors" of large trust companies, attributing their failures to lack of confidence in other companies and citing shrinkage of assets. "Life" counters that these wealthy men were selfish—prioritizing personal interests over public good. The cartoon criticizes how financiers blamed circumstances beyond their control while protecting their own wealth, rather than taking responsibility for their role in the financial collapse. This reflects early 20th-century tensions between corporate leadership and public accountability.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Sanctum Talks “( OOD-MORNING, Lire.” “Good moming, sir. Youare”” “President and director of one of our large trust companies.” “And your name is? “Never mind that. I’m trying to con- Pr “T can well understand your motives. Suppose I call you—just for convenience, you know—Mr. Rekless-Speculator.” “Um! Ah! Very well. I just came in, Lire, to express my indignation. Would you believe it, the institution of which I am president was recently obliged to close its doors.” “You alarm me. Surely this could not have been your fault.” “Dear me, no. Perfectly sound, of course” “And no one will lose anything even now. When you have realized on your assets you will, I presume, pay 100 cents ‘on the dollar.” “Well, you see, we would have been able to do this only with such a present incumbent as we have at the Whi House. What can one expect? Then you know our collateral, almost all of it gilt- edged icebergs, Mexican silver min and other well-known specialties, has un- avoidably shrunk.” “Owing to” —— “Owing to lack of confidence in our and other companies.” “How silly.” “Tsn’t it absurd!” “And so possibly you will not be able to pay in full.” “Well, er, not exactly. enty per cent.” “Indeed! As much as tha “T said possibly, you understand.” “Oh, yes. Possibly seventy, possibly , oF fifty, or?’ —— actly. One never can tell what senseless timidity on the part of the peo- ple may lead us into.” “You blame them, then.” Possibly sev- “Who else? And now, Lire, I’m com- ing to the main point. You sce it’s quite plain. If every depositor had stood by us” “Had made no attempt to withdraw his own money”—— “Precisely. Why, then, it couldn’t have happened.” “But they didn’t.” “Dear me, no. That's what made all the trouble.” “They all thought of the same thing at the same time.’” “That's just it. You sce how un- patriotic and thoroughly selfish it was.” “Disgracefully so. They were heed- lessly looking out for themselves and their own families instead «f considering your interests. This made a run on your insti- tution.” “Yes, and a very trying one, too. Why, I assure you I watched the crowd for a couple of hours from my auto when it first began, and I don’t know when I passed such an anxious time.” comicbooks.com