Life, 1911-02-23 · page 7 of 44
Life — February 23, 1911 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical attack on wealthy American philanthropists. The text declares the issue dedicated to "Rich Men of America," criticizing them for giving charity only when it brings public acclaim or tax benefits—not from genuine compassion. The illustration shows a skeleton beneath a tree raining money (greenbacks), suggesting that rich men's philanthropy is hollow, death-bound, and mechanically dispensed rather than heartfelt. The skeleton may reference the "grim reaper" or death of authentic charity. The text specifically references J.P. Morgan as an example of a wealthy man wielding power through silent influence and strategic gift-giving to control institutions and family legacies—buying respectability rather than earning it through genuine virtue. The satire's core message: true philanthropy requires willingness to give while alive, not merely burnishing one's legacy posthumously.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
This Number 'O wealthy men in general, and to the Rich Man in particular, Lire in this number offers his felicitations. The rich man is not a product of this climate, nor of this age. Even among the cave dwellers there was al- ways somewhere a J. P. Morgan in au- thority; silent in his power, issuing fur- Jearing bonds to the heads of families when they needed them and buying up all the brass ornaments in the country; making himself indispensable as a pew holder and a panic dispeller, and in many other little ways endearing himself to the hearts of the cave dwellers, while they ardently gave him a share of their earn- ings. The Rich Man flourished in Babylon, : Athens and Rome. He is popularly sup- posed to be secretly unhappy, to nourish a canker in his bosom, and to be con- stantly engaged in a mad race for pleas- ure and power. It is from our crop of rich men that philanthropists are recruited, and the number and extent of philanthropists de- pend entirely on the number of rich men. Some men give away laughter, or en- hance the value of the state by judg- ment displayed at critical moments, or else they devote their lives to their coun- try—but they are not philanthropists. You can only be a philanthropist when you have money to burn; and many a rich man, not being able to burn it when he is alive, reserves this pleasure until afterwards. This number of Lire is dedicated to the Rich Men of America; it is intended 10 shed into their meager and parched lives a few rays of real sunlight; while at the same time affording the multitude UNDER THE GREENBACK TREE some slight measure of consolation for their own unhappy condition. comicbooks.com