Life, 1907-12-12 · page 5 of 20
Life — December 12, 1907 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The page contains two main satirical pieces: **"What Caused the Panic?"** is a poem by Chesterton Todd that humorously catalogs competing explanations for an economic panic—blaming Heaven, financial speculation, excessive spending, Wall Street trusts, Standard Oil, and T.R. (Theodore Roosevelt). The joke is that everyone blames something different, making the actual cause unclear. **"Diary of a Teddybear"** is a satirical piece where a teddy bear describes hard times—being abused by a master's angry father, taking a final auto ride before being sold, and moving to poor quarters. The humor lies in personifying a child's toy experiencing economic hardship, likely reflecting early-1900s recession anxieties through an absurdist lens. Both pieces use humor to address financial crisis and economic anxiety.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
What Caused the Panic? (No one thing causes a panic, —Popular Editorial.) ay that it was Heaven , sent, A species of celestial sport Inwhich some million people went Short. The glittering financial pale Were out, instead of being in Jail Some say it was our spendthrift jig We didn’t stop to eat our crusts— While others say it was the big ‘Trusts. Some say it was the serpent coil Of Wall Street on our credit line. Some say it was the Standard Oil Fine Some say—quite energetically— More so than all the rest by far— *Twas none of these. "Twas only T. R No matter what the rest may s On one sure thing we all agree ‘The cure was brought about by J. Chesterton Todd. Diary of a Teddybear Ger up this morning rather the worse for wear. Last night my master’s father came in, and, seeing me, imme- diately fell into a rage and batted me against the wall. ‘You're responsible for this condition!” he exclaimed. 1 wonder what he was driving at? Ree BOW BICGRCUETKNGES * 8 * Took my last ride in the auto to-day. — 1; makes little difference to me, however. suspected I would come to this at last To-morrow, I understand, it will be sold. won't have to walk. I will always be And, hello! here’s a photo of the man I carried by some one, We passed s was named after, And to think we should dolls on the way. But, oh, my! they both go down to oblivion together. were wearing last year’s clothes. their faces looked pinched. A Personal Issue . * « NODD: What does this money strin " gency mean, anyway? To-day we moved into poorerquarters. “Topp: Why, the thing has simply Wonder what the trouble is, an: a , tried to keep out of the old man’s Somehow, I al seem to excite him. RS. BLOODGOOD: Would you But my master, the boy, still clings to be willing to marry a nouveau ER, PAINTER IN THE GRAND ta 4 riche? ; a STYLE, GETS HIS WONDERFUL IMPRESSION- : Miss Parvenu: Why, certainly, if he Istic EFFECTS Well, here Iam in the ash-barrel. I had money. spread from me to the whole country. i comicbooks.com