Life, 1909-08-05 · page 20 of 44
Life — August 5, 1909 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page contains two satirical pieces: **"August in Town"** is a poem by Wallace Irwin mocking New Yorkers stuck in the sweltering city during summer. The accompanying caricature shows a stout, uncomfortable man in formal dress—representing the wealthy urbanite too proud or habituated to leave despite the heat. The satire critiques how people endure miserable conditions ("we go, because we go") rather than actually seeking relief, and how the wealthy escape to exclusive destinations while ordinary people suffer. **"What Every Doctor Knows"** is cynical commentary on medical practice, suggesting doctors prioritize reputation and profit over patients' actual needs. It claims most doctor visits are unnecessary, that doctors collude with each other to avoid scrutiny, and that surgery is performed for financial gain rather than healing. The final line—a dog's accent—likely adds sarcastic humor, though its specific reference is unclear. Both pieces exemplify Life's satirical approach to American social hypocrisy and professional ethics.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
176 August in Town (Being the ill-natured thoughts of a sunstruck cynic.) BY the Rule of Lemonade And the Law of Compensation, Surely August wasn't made For protracted cerebration Which produces inflammation At the Reason’s deepest roo! And involves incarceration In some Pasteur Institute. * Now the Garden on the Roof, Kicks the “light fantastic” madly- Which is just another proof That we take our pleasures sadly: For the play that’s done so badly As the average mer show,” We would all dispense with gladly— But we go, because we go. Now the City sits and stews Neath the heat-contracted girder, And the Press displays no news Save, perhaps, some trifling the Summer Book's an the one which ca From a Fifty-Cent Who is wealthy, but a bore Shall I take the country air, Join my friends at Lake Pazzaza, Holding down a rocking chair On a boarding-house piazza With some antiquated Zaza In a Merry Widow hat? Rather Coney or the Plaza, To a dismal dream like that! Doors and windows sealed with boards In the residential section, Indicate that Landed Lords Have dispersed in each direction To the Places of Perfectio: Cars to drive and yachts to steer: If I had some Rich Connection, Say! would I be broiling Here? Wallace Irwin. What Every Doctor Knows HAT as long as he has a reputation the mistakes he makes will never be held up against him That nine-tenths of the visits he makes are superfluous. That it isn’t wise to consult another doctor about a particular case, in the presence of the patient, it being better to come to a private understanding with each other first | That it is more profitable to cut than to cure ——— That Nature, as a silent partner, is SU pretty close to being the whole game. ‘7 0 That the best book on surgery is the pocketbook DOGGIE, DOGGIE, VAR IST DAT TAM DOG?” comicbooks.com