Life, 1911-03-16 · page 9 of 44
Life — March 16, 1911 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon titled "THE PRESTIDIGITATEUR" (French for "sleight of hand") depicts a thin, skull-faced man in formal dress tossing money to a crowd of jubilant figures with raised arms. This appears to satirize financial manipulation or deceptive wealth distribution—the prestidigitateur's "trick" being false prosperity. The article "Bulls and Bears" discusses Wall Street stock market behavior, advising readers on which stocks to buy. It mentions the San Francisco Exposition and notes market volatility, particularly regarding American People Common stock influenced by the Taft decision in the Warren case. The lower cartoon "FOR A GOOD BOY" shows figures in shadow, though its specific meaning remains unclear without additional context. The page satirizes market speculation and financial illusion during what appears to be the early 1910s.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Bulls and Bears HE market still continues to be the chief topic of Wall Street. It was inclined to rest after its arduous work of trying to connect Carnegie’s latest peace contribution with Canadian reci- procity. There was little doing. Accord- ingly the brokers spent the week writing letters to customers. A few extracts from THE PRESTIDIGITATEUR these letters show what we may expect. Fleecem and Bouncem say: “ Some stocks are not as cheap as they should be and vice versa, We should advise customers to buy’ the stocks which will show the most profit.” Wiseacre and Fudge say: “We admit there is much money lost in Wall Street, but that is entirely because investors do not make sure what a stock is going to “FoR A Goop Boy.” do before dealing in it. We think it is too early to begin to discount the. influ- ence of the San Francisco Exposition.” Sharp Claws and Scratcher, one of the oldest firms in the street, say: “While the market looks as if it might go higher unless something happens, we should be glad to accept orders on any basis, as we make the same profit whether stocks go up or down.” There was nothing to explain the fluc- tuations on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. There was not even thing to explain why there was nothing any- to explain, The most notable movement of the week was the rise in American People Common, This was attributed primarily to the Taft decision in the Warren case. While this widely-held stock is still sell- ing around thirty cents, some are so hopeful as to think it will ultimately go to par. Others, however, point out that ultimately is a long way off. On Saturday prices narrowed, became professional, technical, uncertain, peev- ish, rantankerous, lop-sided and chesty. If the bank statement hadn't arrived in the nick of time, there is no telling what might have happened. comicbooks.com