Life, 1909-04-15 · page 12 of 36
Life — April 15, 1909 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical commentary on individualism titled "The Individual." The text criticizes people who demand special treatment and resist social conformity, comparing such a person unfavorably to Robinson Crusoe—suggesting they're impractical and self-centered. The illustrations support this theme: a bearded man carries bundles of possessions, representing the obstinate individual burdened by their own demands. A second sketch shows a woman in ruffled dress, relating an anecdote about her temper and conflict with servants. The large cartoon at bottom depicts "The Lion," satirizing African colonial narratives. It shows a man fleeing from a lion while holding a kite, captioned "NO BLOOMING STRANGER THAT SETS FOOT IN AFRICA CAN CALL ME A LIAR"—likely mocking tall tales and exaggeration common in imperial adventure stories.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1709 not when the truth is generally known, longer be tolerated in a land of constitu tional liberty. This is signed by the officers of the League, President, Vice-Presidents, Secretary, Treasurer and Directors. “LIFE: Parents who are interested in their children—or even in themselves— might do well to read this over tw The Individual M*x* people there are who are busily engaged in conserving the rights of the individual. ‘That is praise- worthy activity. The trouble is not with those who engage in such activity, but with the individual himself. The indi- vidual will not stand hitched. He will rot take himself off and allow us to look at him as a thing apart, but in upon getting into the picture, upon getting mixed up with things social. If the individual were more like Robin- son Crusoe, we could do something for him. Robinson did not need the services of a policeman, a dog-catcher, a fire de- partment, a postman, a school, a mani- cure, a barber, or a subway guard. He was content with one poor little excuse of a valet, and even then the valet was not required 16 comb either his master’s hair or his goat-skins. As for bates, twenty-nine million dollar fines, newspapers, ete., which are purely social, they were entirely out of the question. If the individual wouldn't bother us, we wouldn't bother him E hemmed and hawed because she knitted her brows when she darned , and then he upbraided her. Meee 1909 This ruffled her temper sew that she ripped out more than the stitches she had put in bis socks, It is needle-ess to complait this sad story, as it is not pleasant to follow the thread of their which wound up with her throwing a spool at him, which put a crocheted under his eye. discourse, The Lion: NO BLOOMING STRANGER THAT SETS FOOT IN AFRICA CAN CALL mc A LIAR comicbooks.com