Life, 1909-08-19 · page 5 of 28
Life — August 19, 1909 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces: **Top image ("Ring Around the Moon"):** A silhouetted figure gazes at a moonlit seascape—likely illustrative rather than satirical. **Left column ("As to Mr. Rockefeller's Ambition"):** A satirical letter suggesting John D. Rockefeller Sr. pursues petroleum production with relentless ambition. The writer humorously speculates about Uncle John's competitive drive, comparing his experimental ventures to those of "Brother Andy" (likely Andrew Carnegie). The tone is affectionate mockery of wealthy industrialists' obsessive business pursuits. **Right section ("Congratulations"):** Celebrates two U.S. states joining "war against vivisection"—animal testing. A cartoon shows rejected laboratory materials, satirizing rejected research during summer months when institutions slow operations. The implication: good scientific work gets discarded due to seasonal closures. The page reflects Progressive-era concerns about both industrial monopolies and animal welfare advocacy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“RING AROUND THE MOON” As to Mr. Rockefeller’s Ambition Congratulations » Urpana, Ono, August 5, 1909. IFE is glad to know that two more States, Ohio and Illi- aR Lire: What does Uncle Jobn Rockefeller's ambition look to you to be nois, have joined in the war against vivisection. This in these days? Yours, etc., Euatce x is two more blows, one may say, on the solar plexus of Hum- T seems almost impertinent to guess on such a private mat- bug. ter, about which an opinion must rest of course in pure conjecture. Of course Uncle John D.’s ambition is largely fulfilled and in the bank. We don’t suppose that he is regularly bursting with restless eagerness in any direction just now. But if you will have us guess (and remember, we are only guessing), we should say, judging merely from so much of Uncle John’s proceedings as are in public sight, that he aspires in these later years to make salvation a by-product of petroleum. His experiments, as we read of them, look like that, and interesting and very intelligent experiments they are—just a grain more intelligent, we sometimes think, than Brother Andy's in a parallel direction HE public gets the returns on election night; the poli- icians and the trusts get the returns the rest of the WHY SO MUCH GOOD MATERIAL 18 REJECTED IN TIE SUMMER TIME comicbooks.com