Life, 1908-04-09 · page 5 of 20
Life — April 9, 1908 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page satirizes a real cross-country automobile journey. The main illustration shows "The Zip," a car overloaded with supplies, traveling from New York to Paris (humorously labeled, as the car clearly cannot cross the ocean). The article describes James S. Metcalfe's actual expedition, mentioning real people including William Taft (a former Presidential candidate and Yale graduate) and Anthony Comstock (a famous vice crusader). The text humorously documents the car's progress through upstate New York toward Chicago, noting enthusiastic public receptions and humorous incidents. The bottom illustration captioned "Clothing the Bare Limbs—'Comstock's Coming!'" appears to be a separate joke about Comstock's puritanical reputation, showing figures hurriedly covering themselves—a visual pun on his censorious nature.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Lire’s Car, The Zip, Plunging Westward Under Metcalfe’s Firm Grip Ti Zip is nearing Chicago! Metcalfe’s latest wire is as follows: On the road, just out of La Porte, Ind. Pulled up here this morning for a siesta. We are making Anthony do most of the hard labor. He is working now on the differ- entials, on his back in the mud, with his whiskers in the works, which we haven’t even stopped. Taft is a bully fellow—as, indeed, all Yale men are. He agrees with me about Roose- velt but doesn’t dare say so. The Zip i dream, Always running—like Those Chauncey Depew tires are worn down to the air inside of them and are still as durable as ever. Love to Hughes. Glad he consented to take Anthony’s place. Rah! Rah! Rah! Siss boom! Ah! Y In the meantime, what has happened since the announcement made in last week’s Lire of the start of our famous world car, The Zip, to Paris via Siberia? Metcalfe’s dispatch only gives the first glimmer of the truth. Indeed, so much excitement has oc- curred during the past week that we hardly know where to begin. Vassar College is in a fever. Albany hasn’t slept a wink since the car passed through there, after its historic hold up. Roose- velt is preparing a special message on the subject (announcement later) and the clergy have risen in a body. But w In the first place, as everybody knows, the grand start was made on the six- teenth of March from Lire Building on Thirty-first Street. “On to Maxim's!” was the watchword. Mr. James S. Metcalfe (driver) and Mr. William Taft, at one time a Presi- dential candidate, both of them world- famous Yale graduates, accompanied by one Anthony Comstock, known as “ Dub” Comstock, were the occupants of the car. District Attorney Jerome wanted to go along but the insurance companies and the Metropolitan Street Railway wouldn't let him. They needed him, they said, in their business. From the moment the announcement was made of Metcalfe’s heroic journey and patriotic work congratulations began to pour into LirE’s office. Here are a couple selected at random: Dear Life—Your patriotic movement to remove Anthony Comstock from the country, even temporarily, has my heart- iest congratulations. Pity that car isn’t big enough to hold the members of the Theatrical Trust. It would be a great thing for dramatic art in this > country if they could be tethered somewhere in Siberia. Long live Met- calfel WELL WISHER. And from one of the leading members of the theatrical profession — who did not dare sign his name—came the fol- Good for The Zip and Metcalfe! America for the Americans! All along the route, from Kings Bridge to Albany, there were enthusiastic crowds of people. ‘There was a slight setback at Spuyten Duyvil, but it delayed the car only a few moments. When the car passed through Peekskill, Chauncey De- pew’s old home, the tires he had blown up were greeted with prolonged cheers. A large sign in the center of the town attracted great applause. It read: I DIE BUT N RESIGN When the car came to Poughkeepsie, Dub Anthony betrayed signs of un- easiness. “I should like,” he said, “to go lowing: CLOTHING THE BARE LIMBS “* COMSTOCK’S COMING !”” comicbooks.com