Life, 1910-03-17 · page 32 of 36
Life — March 17, 1910 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines advertising with satirical fiction. The **Cascade Whisky ad** uses romanticized imagery of moonlit countryside to market liquor—typical early-20th-century advertising. The main content is a satirical fairy tale mocking naive judicial sentimentality toward poverty. A starving boy steals a pie to feed his family; when caught, the magistrate absurdly lectures him about *adulterated* pie being unhealthy, then releases him with a dollar and a note "apologizing" for detaining him overnight. The satire targets: - **Patronizing, out-of-touch authority**: The magistrate misses the point entirely—the boy needs food, not dietary advice - **Institutional hypocrisy**: The court "apologizes" while ignoring actual deprivation - **Class blindness**: The magistrate suggests stealing meat instead, as if theft-selection matters to the hungry The title "Fairy Story" signals this is mockery of unrealistic, feel-good narratives about poverty and justice. The illustration shows the boy and officer among tenement poor, grounding the satire in real urban poverty of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Mellow as Moonlight only partially describes the soft, rich, smooth mellow- ness that distinguishes ASCADE PURE WHISKY refully selected yrain---a superior distilling method- special purification and proper aging give Cascade its fineness. OF iT bee GEO. A. DICKEL & CO., Distillers NA FOTENN Fairy Story HE small boy crept down the long flight of stairs from his palatial apartment on the tenth floor of an East Sile flat where his family of one mother, one drunken father and five starving children were lolling at their ease and wandered over toward the main artery. On his journey he came to a baker's shop. There was a large pie in the window, a monument of gastronomical effi ciency—and olcomargarine. The door was open and the baker was in the rear. The boy attacked the pie with his eyes. Then with a swift movement he darted silently inside and clutching it in his arms made off down the street. The baker became con- scious that the pie was going. He saw the boy, or a brief edge of bim, around the corner. The chase was exciting but brief. The boy was caught “Did you steal that pie for yourself?" asked the magis- trate the next morning. “No, sir—for me brudders and sister: you aware, young man, that pie is bad for the youth- ful stomach? '” “T did the best I could, your honor.’ The magistrate’s glance was severe. “No, you didn’t. It was probably an adulterated pie. Even in this advanced age we have not guarded against that Now I am going to let you off, but remember next time steal a nice piece of nourishing meat, or some succulent vegetables. Don't you forget. And patting him on his head, after giving him a note of apology for detaining him over night, the magistrate dismissed him with a bright new dollar. That night the boy’s family regailed themselves with porterhouse. The dollar, undisturbed, had been placed in a people’s bank. Many persons were unable to secure from newsdealers copies of the issue of LIFE for February 24th. The great demand for the number exhausted their supplies. It will be sent prepaid to any address on receipt of the price—ten cents—by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY 17 West Thirty-First Street, New York City B. The colored cover of this number, entitled “Hers,” has been reproduced in print form suitable for framing and will be sent prepaid to any address on receipt of one dollar. “MOTHER, I WISH YOU'D MAKE BABY STOP LICKING PAINT OFF MY SOLDIERS. ME’S JUST SPOILING THEM ALL."” seross t tere i Mats comicbooks.com