Life, 1909-10-07 · page 15 of 44
Life — October 7, 1909 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two main pieces of political satire from early 20th-century Life magazine. **"The Comet's A-Coming"** satirizes Halley's Comet's 1910 appearance by mocking how different political factions interpreted it as an omen for their causes. The text jokes that Prohibitionists saw it as signaling the end of alcohol, while supporters of William Bryan (the "Commoner") believed it portended his electoral success. Theodore Roosevelt's African return is mentioned, placing this around 1909-1910. The piece ridicules superstitious political prediction. **"Current Currency"** mockingly critiques proposed reforms to reduce paper money size, sarcastically suggesting this burdens laborers with "extra baggage." It satirizes America's obsession with reform movements (spelling reform, etc.), noting the absurdity of reforming currency size while maintaining religious phrases on coins. The illustration titled **"The Man from Home"** shows a formal interior scene, likely depicting a social situation, though its specific narrative isn't clarified in the visible text.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
hot that both poles suddenly melt. The polar bears then sing the following: Concluding Song. Polar Bears and Walruses. Woof! Woof! Woof! This thing might be confusing. Woof! Woof! Woof! Instead, it is amusing. For years they searched for something, and when they had it caught, It ended in a scrimmage, and they found that it was Naught. ° Woof! Woof! Thomas L. Masson. Woof! Poy, “THE MAN PROM HOME ’* The Comet's A-Coming Lok out for Halley's comet. It is a high-class celestial hobo, with a large and very luminous tail. It comes along about once in seventy- five years, and something of moment usually happens during the period of its exhibition It embellished the fall of Jerusalem, and again the capture of Constantinople by the Turks. It is already visible through a glass, but will not be ostentatious in the sky until next April. It will be here in full candle-power to welcome Theodore Roosevelt home from Africa. Expectation prevails in the Middle West that its present visit will punctuate the fall of the Prohibitive Tariff; the Prohibitionists feel that it spells the end of rum, and the Commoner finds it portentous that Mr. Bryan will come nearer election than usual next time. Fetch it along and Jet's have it over! And meanwhile, sit tight, everybody, for these are nervous times. Atpricn glitters is not gold Current Currency Y all means decrease the size of our paper money, as_ recently proposed. The laboring people are al- ready overworked. Why subject them to the necessity of carrying about so much extra baggage? Besides, we must have reform at any price. It is the age of reform. We have spelling reform, fashion re- form, ete. We have reformed our pennies and manfully refrained from abolishing “In God We Trust,” and substituting “In Golf We Trust.” We are doing well. Perhaps the only mis- take we made was in increasing the size of our Presidents, but four or more years of worry may even rem- edy that. Reform is in the air. OST of the unhappiness of the world is caused by the belief that the rest of the people are happy. PEARY WANTED TO RE FIRST. —Newspaper head. HAT wasn't all. He wanted, ap- parently, to be first, last and only. comicbooks.com