Life, 1909-04-15 · page 14 of 36
Life — April 15, 1909 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the "Husbands' Conference"—an apparent movement to elevate men's status and independence. The cartoon mocks a backlash led by Mrs. Charlotte Filkins Pillmon, who protests that empowering husbands will make them neglect household duties and burden women further. The satire ridicules both sides: the husbands' conference claims men deserve equality with women, while Pillmon argues women's safety depends on keeping men subordinate and busy with work outside the home. The bottom illustration shows a man lounging while dogs chase—a visual joke supporting Pillmon's worry: if freed from labor, men become useless. The piece reflects early 20th-century gender debates about domestic roles and women's evolving power, using absurdist humor to mock rigid arguments from both traditionalists and proto-feminist advocates.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Correspondence School for Husbands HE great Husbands’ Conference is approaching. The city is rapidly filling up. Husbands from Kansas, hus- bands from Texas, from the slope of the Pacific, and from the bleak fastnesses of Alaska jostle each other in the streets, and give the sign-manua, of the order. It fills us with pride to think that we are responsible for all this renaissance of down-trodden husbands that the has ever seen, Next week ence will be in full swing, hoped that a set of lasting reforms will grow out of it, for the ultimate goo: of the human When it is what heen forests and our coal seen that this is but a fits preservation of our national resources, for if husbands to fall off in power, if they are ruthlessly destroyed, where will we be? It is with great regret, therefore, that the greatest independence among world the confer- and it is race. realized has already done for our mines, it will be “quence to the besin we are constrained to announce that op- position has developed. Last week there was a protest meeting attended by certain wives, who ought to know The Husbands’ Confer- ence was made subject of discussion, and means to neu- tralize its effect were urged. Mrs. Charlotte Filkins Pillmon addressed the meeting in an impassioned burst of oratory, and said that women had too much to do already; that if men were lifted up on the same plane they would ave more than they could pos. sibly attend to. Mrs. Pillmon declared that woman's safely lay in keeping down where they are new. We spirit, and can only attribute it to ignorance on the part of Mrs. Pillmon as to the great emancipation work of this bu- reau. We invite Mrs. visit the bureau better, with the only men this are sorry to. se Pillmon to nd when she is acquainted with the real purpose of this great movement we believe that she will agree with us that it is possible to with woman, and give him the same privi- lift man up on the same plane leges. and yet not spoil him. We have all along claimed that if men really wanted what they ought to have they could get it. And this conference is the result, Has Mrs. Pillmon Our Model Home, on exhibition day and nigh We believe if she will visit this home, and make it a careful change her mind seen study, she will We shall be glad to ission to it. Here she see husband and actually living within their income At certain. intervals all the styles change, and the woman docsn’t mind it She smiles sweetly and goes on with the house-cleaning The husband comes and goes as he pleases. Being free to do this, he act- ually—strange as it may appear—prefers to stay home and interest himself in the affairs of the household. He brings to bear upon the domestic problem, volun- tarily, all of his business training. The re- give her a card of adi will wife “Great scott! sult is that with both of them supremely interested, and neither of them thinking that the other is shirking the job, a nor- mal happiness and an absence of all frie- tion. We would also call attention to some of our literature. Possibly Mrs. Pill- mon has not seen our latest contribution to posterity, entitled “The Husband's Place in Nature," by an eminent scien- tist Also, the “ Evolution of the Suburban Husband,"" by One Who Knows. In this book the various stages of sub- urban life treated _ exhaustively. Here are some of the chapters: The dog-kceping stage, and how it is successfully lived through. Subdivided into are Dogs given by friends Dogs bought to surprise wifey. How to treat neighbors’ dogs. The Hen Cycle. How by looking at the eg to tell a rooster Keeping a garden and chickens at the same time Methods of Roring City Friends so they will Buying never come again furniture decorating th Why should have something to say about it The Husband’s Sunday. Why it should never be interfered with. No fechle protest on the part of any misguided women can, stop this grand movement. Freedom forever! In the meantime we await of the conference with feverish interest. Our patrons, when in town, should not fail to register at the bureau We have just established a private consultation hour at which husbands who prefer not house. husbands however, the result ES Pes I THOUGHT IE’D GONE TO AFRICA!