Life, 1909-01-14 · page 12 of 28
Life — January 14, 1909 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This illustration depicts two figures with large insect-like wings, appearing to be engaged in playful or competitive flight. The caption reads "THE WINGED AGE" with dialogue: "Hunter: ARE THEY WILD GEESE? / Guide: LOOKS MORE LIKE A SUNDAY-SCHOOL PICNIC." The satire appears to mock modern invention and progress. The "winged age" likely references early aviation enthusiasm of the early 20th century. The joke seems to suggest that even ordinary Sunday-school children now possess wings—mocking either how accessible/commonplace the technology is becoming, or satirizing society's obsession with mechanical innovation. The hunter and guide's confusion suggests these winged humans have become so normal they're mistaken for wildlife.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Good to Her Family i that huge structure is a house, who lives in it?” asked the Man Mars. “That is the palatial mansion of Mrs Vanderscamp of bean fame,’? answered from the Beggar on the corner. “She must be a very thrifty and in dustrious person,’” continued the Man from Mars. “Why so?’? rejoined the Beggar. “Did you ever hear of her doing any work much less save money?" “No. I'm a stranger here, but, of course, any one could see that a great amount of work is necessary to take care of a house of that sort, to say noth- ing of building it in the first place. To be sure it takes a work,” responded the Be doesn’t She that.”" wy proposition, Mars.“ ported. reat deal of r, “but she servants work. has for don’t see how that changes the the Man from The servants have to be sup- If they are working for her, she must be working for their support the same time. It's as broad as it's rgued Jong.” “T don’t know where you got such strange ideas,"’ rejoined the Beggar, “but you're wrong. Mrs, Vanderscamp never did any work in her life “How then docs she get along?"! “She owns things of all kinds, things that the people need to use and charges for the use of these things.”” “Yes, but she must be of sor to society or the people would not her to own things that they need.’” “T think an investigation would show she couse How CONTENTS NOTED" EAS x a Z a i) THE WINGED AGE Hunter: ARE THEY WILD GEE 2? B? Guide: LOOKS MORE LIKE A SUNDAY-SCHOOL PICNIC. that she could die to-morrow without making a ripple, without the slightest inconvenience to society.” “Very strange, very strange,"’ mut- tered the Man from Mars. “I fear I will never get used to your ways."” “On second thought"? broke in the Beggar, “I may be doing her an tice. injus- I have heard of one service she performs with great zeal.” “Ah, Mars. a,’ ejaculated the Man from “T knew there must. be thing. To what do you refer?" “T understand that, though she has no children, she is very good to her poodle dog is O. Jones. some- A Problem TT BACHER: Johnny Jones, you will stay after school one hour and study your lesson. Jouxxy Joxes: Are you going to stay with me? “Yes. “Then I'd like to know if you are punishing me or I am punishing you.”” Preaching OT long ago a writer in one of the literary papers remarked that the average sermon was, of all creative pro- ductions, the least likely to be preserved, and he called attention to the fact that of all the sermons preached only an infinitesimal part of them had found their way into book form. And these are not read. Why is it that a body of men who have received an academic education extending over a large part of their tives and whose training has been for the sole purpose of expounding and impart- ing truth, should yet say so very little that is even worth repeating? This would seem to be an unanswerable argu- ment against so-called learning. As a matter of fact, it is. Suppose there was a Whole Dogma of Swimming, and that to expound Swimming one would have to learn the comparative philology of Hebrew, Greek, Sanscrit and Latin—would any one ever learn to swim by such a method? comiébooks.com