Life, 1910-11-17 · page 16 of 44
Life — November 17, 1910 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main article "Let Us Be Businesslike" satirizes John D. Rockefeller's enormous wealth ($50 million annually). The author mockingly proposes evaluating Rockefeller's actual value to society—as an industry organizer, advisor, golf player, and educational patron—then questions whether paying him so much to own vast portions of the country makes economic sense. The satire suggests wealthy industrialists essentially set their own compensation without accountability, a practice unacceptable for ordinary employers. The cartoon "The Incubator Chick" (captioned "No Mother to Guide Her") likely represents society or youth lacking proper guidance, paralleling themes of abandonment and moral direction. Supporting content includes satirical verses and jokes criticizing wealthy corruption, ostentatious wealth-flaunting ("the disgrace of dying rich"), and the conflation of money with worth—reflecting Progressive Era anxieties about unchecked industrial capitalism and wealth inequality.
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THE INCUBATOR CHICK “No MOTHER TO GUIDE HER." -LIFE: Let Us Be T has been estimated that Mr. Rocke- feller’s income is about fifty million dollars per annum. That’s what we pay him by our laws and customs. It is undeniable that he is a valuable man, but have we gone about it in a business-like way to find just how valu- able he is? Is he worth that much? Can we get somebody in his place for less? Let’s see. He is valuable as an or- ganizer of industry. How much is that worth? Although be has retired from that position shall we continue to pension him? Or, have we paid him enough? He is valuable for his sage utterances and for his good advice to young men who need money. It ought to be com- paratively easy to put a price on that c. Perhaps a dollar a word would de liberal enough. y Arrival: Mt SAY, OLD CHAP, YOU DOWN'T 'APPEN 10 "AVE A MATCH ABOUT YouR cLoTHEs, po you? Businesslike He is valuable for keeping a paternal watch on our educational institutions. How much for that? Not much, per- haps, as salaries of educators have never ranged high, He is valuable for playing golf? Not all of us have the time for playing golf and, as golf should be played, we should be willing to pity some one for doing it. There may be a few other minor items for which he is valuable, but we are pay- ing him most of the money for his serv- ices as owner, and we have been letting him fix his own wages. Employers do not often do this. Should we make an exception in his case? If not, what is it worth to us to have him own a large portion of our country? That’s where the rub comes. Is it cheaper to have him own the things and fix the price than to own them ourselves? An Acrostic People paying pipers. Orators ornamenting office seekers. Looters laying lines. Imps imitating innocence. ‘Thugs throttling truth, Ignorant insiders idling. Cold, calculating corruptionists, Sly, sneaking spoilsmen, Get Out Your Bibles AS Satan the first eavesdropper? Was Elijah the first aviator? Was Nebuchadnezzar the first cowboy. Was Noah the first archxologist? Was Jacob the first to act as a show- fur? Was Eve the first to say a-dam? Was Lazarus the first repeater? Was Balaam the first to hear his master’s voice? Was Moses the first lawbreaker? These Days IRST HOUSEWIFE: I’m going to buy a dozen eggs. Secoxp Housewire: Who is your broker? ODD: I just got a new talking ma- chine. Topp: Phonograph or wife? HE only penalty for dishonesty seems to be the disgrace of dying rich comicbooks.com