Life, 1910-12-15 · page 14 of 44
Life — December 15, 1910 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts airplanes crashing or falling from the sky, likely satirizing early aviation's dangers and failures—a timely concern in the early 1900s when powered flight was nascent and frequently fatal. The text "Invited to Panama" is a cutting satirical letter addressed to Cardinal Merry del Val (the Pope's Secretary of State), essentially telling him to take a six-month vacation and let Cardinal Rampolla run things instead. The writer argues del Val is a "back number" mismanaging the Church, which operates as an "irresponsible government" lacking representative features. The Panama reference suggests vacation/exile to somewhere remote. "In Defense of New York" sardonically defends New York City against charges of being too poor to fund schools for 60,000 half-time students. The satire argues New York's real specialties are "hell-raising, money-raising and money-spending"—implying the city *chooses* not to educate children despite having wealth for Wall Street and Tammany Hall politics.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ab Pe « THE GRAVEYARD OF THE SKIES Invited to Panama ON. MERRY DEL VAL, Rome. Dear Sir:—Friendship for your family and concern for your success in life, prompts us to suggest that you apply for a vacation—six months, at least, with leave to extend—and let some other gentleman—Hon. Card. Rampolla, for example —advise the Holy Father for a spell. We are informed that your strong point is company man- ners, and your weak suit theology, but whatever are your at- tainments or accomplishments it is impossible not to recognize that the administration with which you are connected, and of which you are accounted the chief prop, is not making good. We question, Hon. Cardinal, if your traveling men are giving you true reports of the condition of your business. We question whether there is any country in the world where, if the lay members of your connection expressed their views of your policies by means of the Australian ballot, you would get one-tenth of the votes for your present office. You might do somewhat better with the clergy, but not much; not even in this country where Modernists are scarce and you are known rather as a rumor than as a fact. You are connected with an irresponsible government, very seriously over-centralized and devoid of the representative features requisite in this age of the world to keep it in health. With these great disabilities it cannot be successfully admin- istered by back numbers. We fear, Hon. Cardinal, that you are not only a back number, but one destined to the achieve- ment of great renown as a has-been. We carnestly recom- mend you to separate yourself for a time from Rome and fif- teen centuries of tradition, and try a change of air and scene, Our President lately visited Panama and came home convinced that things are not as they used to be. You also, Hon, Cardinal, we should welcome to Panama. There is no place better adapted to insert ideas into the system of a back number The great lesson there expounded is that everything happens when the world is ready for it and happens easily. ‘The supplementary lesson is that true knowledge is irresis lible and that obstacles merely give it exercise. By all means, Hon. Cardinal, visit Panama, and absorb its lessons and carry them back to Rome, if you conclude to re- turn there. Yours, with solicitude, In Defense of New York OMEBODY ought to be made to suffer for *he imputation that New York City is too poor to provide enough schools for her children. It may be a fact that sixty thousand chil- dren in New York are compelled to be on half time, New York knows her business. New York never made any pretensions at children-raising, anyway. New York's special- ties are hell-raising, moncy-raising and money-spending. Nor has New York boasted of her educational facilities. She has wisely depended for those on her satellites, Philadelphia, Bos- ton, New Haven, Europe and other rural communities. It is nothing lower than the height of absurdity to charge that a city which can support Wall Street and Tammany and the Great White Way, cannot also educate its children if it wishes, It is merely that New York docs not sec any ad- vantage in having its children educated. This is an important distinction. There are thousands of good reasons why chil- dren should not be educated, but there is absolutely no excuse for being poor. Ellis O. Jones Your Turn Now, Republicans DANGEROUS man in politics now and then has his value to the country. He keeps the people who are afraid of him hustling to accomplish all that is practicable of the re- forms that he advocates before he gets a chance to get into office on them, Lire. Wholesale HE Kaiser, assisted by the Czar, killed four hundred and ninety-two stags in one hour. These two “ sports” ought to swap jobs with somebody in a Chicago slaughter house. = DIRONDACK GUIDE: What is your climate in New York? New Yorker: Well, occasionally it gets down to zero. Aprronpack Guipe: M-m-m! Don't you ever have any cold weather? moons: Honeymoon, moneymoon, alimonymoon. “A COMING-OUT PARTY.” ‘Comicbooks.com