Life, 1909-05-13 · page 18 of 32
Life — May 13, 1909 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical page from Life magazine (dated April 22, 1909) contains several political and social commentary pieces: **"The Outlook Abroad"** mocks European power dynamics through absurdist logic. It treats the Swedish King's choice of a colored dinner jacket as a potential international crisis, arguing that only powerful nations like England (with its Dreadnoughts warships) can afford such fashion risks. Weaker powers must "count the cost." The joke satirizes the pretentious fragility of diplomatic relations. **"Solution Offered"** presents practical absurdist advice: if Fifth Avenue buses are too tall for Riverside Drive trees, trim the buses instead of the trees—inverting the obvious solution to mock bureaucratic obstinacy. **"Utah No Better"** criticizes women's suffrage advocates in Utah, suggesting their claims that suffrage improved marriage rates are "mispointed" given actual divorce statistics. The cartoon of "Madame Frog" teaches etiquette to a child—likely satirizing overly refined social rules. Multiple reader letters complain about Life's recent "Woman's Number" issue, finding it depressing—suggesting contemporary gender debates were contentious even among readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE FIKST QUARKEL The Outlook Abroad HE cables continue to enlarge upon the clicet of the King of Sweden having worn a colored clawhammer at a ball, instead of the conventional black. In the light of the latest advices, indeed, the possibility of a crisis looms uncom- fortably large. The plain truth is that Sweden hasn't the natural resources for this sort of thing. The King of England, with his Dreadnoughts, can crease his trousers both ways, and brazen it out, regardless of the attitude of the world; but in- ferior powers have to count the cost. It is significant of the uneasiness per- vading the chancelleries that the German Emperor is able, perhaps for the first time in his reign, to wear all his uni- forms in less than a week, working only ten hours a day Ramsey Benson. Madame Frog: THAT's A GOOD LITTLE BOY, ALWAYS PUT YOUR HAND BEFORE YOUR MOUTIT WIEN you YAWN, Love Solution Offered HE two-story Fifth avenue motor- buses being too tall to pass under the trees of the Riverside drive in New York, the bus company wants the trees trimmed up, but the Park Commissioners say No! We haven't seen the trees, and cannot give an expert opinion about trimming them, but if the trees can’t be trimmed up, why not trim down the busses? When your needle is too small for your thread, if you can’t get a bigger needle, try a smaller thread. Utah No Better HE Governor of Utah, where they have woman suffrage, has been asked, in the interest of the suffragists, if marriage is less common in Utah or divorce more so than they were ten years ago? He answers “ No,"* and the suffragists point with pride 10 Utah But considering the efforts that have been spert to make marriage somewhat less common in Utah, the pride ‘seems somehow mispointed. How Impolite! Pinttanetentta, April 22, 1909. Drar Lire: Please don't i the girls run the whole show again. It will take. at least three vere good numbers to cast aside the veil of sad. ness thrown over us by that Woman's Num ber. Don't let it happen again. com MR Tue Praza, New York. Dear Lire: Why. did vou do it? We finally waded through it: Was it purposely. had, And wittingly sad? If you do it again you'll rue it. AT FIRST SIGUT Foed for Thought HEW your thoughts well before swallowing them. Mental indiges- tion, with all its train of attendant troubles is due to this one fact more than anything else. Bolted thoughts cause more trouble than you have any conception of. Chew every thought at least thirty- two times, or until there is practically nothing left of it. You will find by so doing that, you can get along on fewer thoughts than you dreamed possible. Have the thoughts that you have been trying to assimilate been lying heavy on your mind? That is because you have hurried them down. Nothing is more painful than to have a lot of undigested thoughts lying on your mind. It leads in time to many organic troubles. As for your daily diet, that depends largely on your heredity and tempera- ment. If you had the mind of a Har- lem goat for example, you might feed on a Presidential and get away with it. If you are broken down, how- by a long course of newspapers, ind might revolt at the slightest at sanity. too many liquid thoughts. Also those that are highly spiced. In the morning take a few headlines, together with a half page or so of some indard writer. Absorb slowly. At noon avoid all stock reports. Read carefully the advertising section of some good magazine. It is very nourishing. At night take a hearty meal of some fresh writer who is more or less season- able. message comicbooks.com