Life, 1908-07-30 · page 3 of 20
Life — July 30, 1908 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main illustration depicts a woman driving a horse-drawn cart with the caption "WITH CARE I CAN KEEP HIM AT IT FOR FIVE MILES. ANYHOW, HE SHAN'T STOP WHILE THE GIRL HUGS." The accompanying articles discuss two social issues: 1. **"So Wags the World"** - A humorous piece about men's excuses and women's wisdom, featuring quotes skeptical of male reasoning. 2. **"Harrying the Street Car Smokers"** - Addresses the problem of men smoking on public streetcars despite regulations. The text praises William Abbott's effort to enforce no-smoking rules, noting that enforcement efforts have been crowded with supporters. The cartoons satirize gender relations and public behavior norms of the era, with the horse-cart illustration suggesting women's control over men, while the street car smoking article highlights early public health activism and gender conflict over public space conduct.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“WITH CARE 1 CAN KEEP HIM AT IT FOR FIVE MILES. So Wags the World IR FOLLY goes a-dancing by, Fun and frolic in his eye, On his lips a careless lay, “Ho, Sir Folly! Why so gay?” Says he: “know a woman.” Beggar Wisdom shuffles near, Down-cast eye, no word of cheer, Rags and tatters, meanly clad, _ “ Brother Wisdom, why so sad?" Harry Lawson. RN'T your children growing?" “ But they can’t help it. It's an inherited trai if ; ty 1 Harrying the Street Car Smokers T IS reported that there is an elderly man in circulation in the street ca of New York who has assumed the duty of discouraging male passengers from bringing lighted cigars and cigarettes into cars in which smoking is prohibited. The papers describe him as wearing a white beard and a linen jacket and car- rying a Bible. They say his name is William Abbott, and that he is editor of the Mogazine of History. The method of his proceedings, as illustrated on a pay-as-you-enter Madison Avenue car, is to protest to the conductor when a man witn a burning cigarette or cigar boards the car, and to have the culprit arrested unless he throws away his torch. Th is a great deal of trouble to take, but is taken in a good and important cause. ANYHOW, HE SHAN’T STOP WHILE THE GIRL HUGS ’” The smoking on the street cars, whether done actively on the platforms or pas- sively inside of the cars, is a great nui- sance and contrary to the law, as ex- pressed in Section 675 of the Penal Code. The law is not enforced, because it is too much trouble to enforce it. Consequently, at all times in the y smokers whose own sense of propriety does not restrain them, crowd the back platforms of cars or carry their fuming stubs inside. Even the ten-cent stages in Fifth Avenue do not escape invasion from self-indulgent persons, who bring half-smoked cigars into them and plant themselves down among a lot of women. We do therefore applaud Mr. William Abbott's effort to amend the street-car manners of this town and wish we had ten thousand other citizens devoted to the same duty. comicbooks.com