Life, 1909-02-04 · page 17 of 40
Life — February 4, 1909 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"His First Heart-Break"** (top illustration): A sentimental cartoon showing a young boy at a gate watching a girl leave, captioned "she's moved away!" This depicts innocent childhood romance—a gentle joke about first love's disappointments. **"Mr. Lowell Will Be Misquoted"**: Commentary on A. Lawrence Lowell, newly elected Harvard president. The piece satirizes how newspapers routinely misquote public figures, distorting meaning through inaccuracy. It treats this as an inevitable "penalty" of high office—a cynical observation about press reliability. **"Treaties"**: A metaphor comparing international treaties to romantic relationships. Nations bound by treaties resemble lovers whose passion fades; weaker nations then find themselves locked into unfavorable agreements enforced by military power ("warships, shot and diplomatic shell games"). This critiques treaty enforcement as imbalanced power dynamics. **"Postal Savings Banks"**: Sharp satire on the proposed government savings program. Life skewers how each financial layer extracts profit—government, private banks, commercial banks, and businesses—while only government bears risk. The cascade of increasing interest rates shows ordinary citizens ultimately paying for the entire system's profiteering.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HIS FIRST HEART-BREAK “site's Moven away!’? Mr. Lowell Will Be Misquoted hing that the president-elect of O Harvard will have to get used to is having his deliverances misquoted in the newspapers. The day after the an- nouncement of the election seven hun- dred youths in his big lecture-room gave him a roaring welcome, and he said something to them about his new job. A report of what he said went straight out and into the afternoon papers all over the country, with just enough inaccuracy in it to distort a little its spirit and sig- nificance. The more accurate report in the morning papers showed where the distortions had been. That will happen to Mr. Lowell over and over again, as it happens to all public men. It is one of the penalties of a great station. Treaties REAT, are ¢ the vows of love-sick ins. They are made to be broken. But, if one nation bears the same relation to an- other as a designing turess to an opulent dotard, then complications are apt to arise closely analogous to breach of promise suits, divorce suits, alimony, etc. "Tis sweet to love and make treaties so long as everything runs smoothly, but when undying love evolves into incom- patibility of temperament the weaker party to the treaty often finds that it is up against a perpetual franchise enfore- ible by warships, shot and diplomatic shell games. sometimes adven- 161 Treaties are a little like corporations. One should not go in unless one has a controlling interest. Postal Savings Banks HE proposed new bill for Postal Sav- ings Banks, which is supposed to be down on the calendar for this winter at Washington, has figured things out to a nicety. In the first place, hoarded savings are to be coaxed out of stockings, tea- pots and other occult places by the gov- ernment upon the offer of great security and two per cent These savings are then to be deposited in local private savings banks at two and one-half per cent. Presumably, these private banks will then lend the savings to larger banks at about three and one-half per cent. Else how could a profit be made? The large commercial banks will then lend the savings out to gilt-edged cus- tomers, including their own directors, at five to six per cent. The gilt-edged customers will then charge their customers about seven per cent. and a commission. These clients, if they are men, will charge the whole amount up in the price of goods; if they are real es- tate men, in rent; so that everybody all along the line will be well taken care of and nobody's graft will be confiscated. In short the government will take all the risk and pay a little for the privilege. Ellis O. Jones. savings business LIFE’S TOURING CAR, SPECIALLY DESIGNED FOR HONEYMOONS comicbooks.com