Life, 1908-08-20 · page 15 of 22
Life — August 20, 1908 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical article mocks how wealthy urban Americans raise children in early 20th-century cities. Written by Ellis O. Jones, it uses **ironic inversion**: the text appears to give earnest advice while actually condemning neglectful child-rearing practices among the poor. The satire targets: - **Crowded tenements** housing many children - **Minimal clothing and sparse feeding** justified as character-building - **Parental neglect**, especially when parents are criminals or alcoholics - **Political corruption** in education (politicians receiving "graft and other emoluments") The cartoon "Before the Scrap" depicts two dogs about to fight, with one saying the other's nose has flies on it—a crude insult joke unrelated to the main article. "Presence of Mind" is a short comic dialogue mocking dinner guests being made drunk on cheap cocktails to distract from a ruined meal—commentary on social pretense. The photograph "A Visit to the Old Home" shows tenement building conditions, visually reinforcing the article's critique of urban poverty and living conditions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: How to Bring Up Children FTER a painstaking, not to say painful, investigation of the approved method of bringing up children in our larger American cities, where civilization has reached its acme, we are able to state authoritatively, for the benefit of the Bitz, backward provinces, the way it is done. First find a tenement, the more squalid and unsanitary, the better. In order that the children may have the companion- ship and elevating association of their fellow beings, crowd as many of them into one tenement as possible. Dress them with care, using as little clothing as possible. This preven’ them from being proud and haughty. Feed them sparingly. This gives them incentive and appetite. The trouble with those who eat too much is that they have no appetite. The child should not be cared for in an organized manner lest it lose its individuality. Whether the child is to be neglected or cared for, it should be done by the parents, and if the parents should happen to be criminals or drunkards, so much the better, for they can then serve as horrible examples for the children to avoid. When the child is old enough send it to school, the hungrier the better. The matter of education should be left with the Government. Education, like salvation, may be free without pauperizing the recipient. The education should not be haphazard. It should be turned over to politicians, who should receive abundantly for their work, not only directly as ‘salary, but indirectly as graft and other emoluments. When you have done all this, you have done.all that could reasonably be expected, and your conscience should be clear. If the child refuses to learn, and insists upon breaking the laws, put him in the penitentiary as soon as he is old enough to do something desperate. Children are a nuisance, anyway. Ellis O. Jones. Presence of Mind IFE (dramatically, Just thin! The Robinsons will be here in twenty minutes, and the cook has spoiled the dinner. . Hussaxn: Don’t worry! We'll make ‘em drink four or five of your ready-made cocktails, and they will never know the difference. i i ONES is strictly orthodox, isn’t he? '’ J “Dear me, yes! He has authority for everything. He refers you in each case either to the Bible or the Republican platform.” BEFORE THE SCRAP “cost! WHAT A FACE! BEEN BLOWING PLIES OFF YoUR NOSE?’? “a VISIT TO THE OLD HomME”’ comicbooks.com