Life, 1910-01-06 · page 45 of 76
Life — January 6, 1910 — page 45: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes early 20th-century medical research ethics and sensationalism. The phone conversation mocks dubious scientific practices at prestigious institutions (the "Rockefeller Institute" and similar-sounding facilities). Researchers with absurd names (Dr. Needless Carver, Dr. Fenetyll Payne) deliberately infect a dog with tuberculosis—seemingly pointless cruelty—then plan to publish it as a "cure," knowing Harper's Monthly readers will believe anything. The satire targets both unethical experimentation and credulous public acceptance of pseudoscience. The magazine mockingly suggests doctors perform experiments simply to perform them, with no genuine medical benefit. The small cartoon about the auto abandoning the horse appears unrelated—likely a separate joke about automobiles replacing horse-drawn transportation, with the punchline that cats, not horses, are vanishing (possibly due to urban development or traffic dangers).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Over the ‘Phone ELLO. Hello. Is this the Halls of Agony? This is the Rockefeller Institute of Physical Research Is Dr. Solarmon Plexus in? No. He has gone out to lunch zwith Dr. Needless Carver and Dr. Knervy Pynchor. Can I Rather? Tam Dr. Lovitt O. Rather. Oh! Good This is Live. ing o Yes, indeed! Dr. Fetetyll Payne and I have just succeeded in giving a reat case of tuberculosis to a fox terrier. Good! How did you do it? speak with Dr. Lovitt morning, Dr. Rather. Anything of interest go- “BON VovAGE " With scrum from a monkey that died of delirium tremens. Splendid work! Yes. It was Dr. Breeder von Bugg’s idea And a good one, too. You must pub- lish it as a new cure for tuberculosis We are going to. Who writes it up? Dr. Gull Reedurs. Just the man! What does it appear in? Barper's Monthly. The public swallows anything, doesn’t it? Almost anything What became of the fox terrier? He died. of course, But Dr. Keene Cutter performed two more experiments on him before he went Lovely! Yours is a glorious mission, Doctor. Well, good by. Good by, Lure. Deserted HE only girl 1 ever prized Deserted me one day She left me for a neighbor Who offered her more pay “DO YOU THINK THE AUTO WILL EVER svc. CEED IN DOING AWAY WITH THE Horse?” “NO, RUT THEY ARE DOING AWAY WITH Lo oF cars.” comicbooks.com