Life, 1911-05-25 · page 14 of 42
Life — May 25, 1911 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
Franklin P. Adams's poem satirizes the ice industry's price-gouging during summer months. Ice was essential for refrigeration before electric cooling existed, making it a necessity rather than a luxury good. The satire's point: no matter the actual conditions—whether winter was harsh or mild, whether ice was abundant or scarce—dealers always raised prices. Adams mocks the contradictory excuses offered: "winter was long and cold" (prices up), then "winter was warm and short" (prices still up). Weather, supply problems, railroad freight costs—every circumstance becomes justification for the same outcome. The accompanying motorist cartoon plays on similar scarcity anxieties: gasoline shortages now paralleling ice shortages, requiring manual labor instead of mechanical convenience. Both items critique exploitation of essential commodities when demand exceeds supply or competition fails.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Cold Fact of Summer HE winter was long and the winter was cold, So they boosted the price of ice. The ice was so thick it could hardly be rolled, So they boosted the price of ice. The ice was so heavy, the labor so great, . The railroads demand such a lot for the freight, You can’t blame the dealers for raising the rate— So they boosted the price of ice. winter was warm and the winter was short, So they boosted the price of ice. And so, as an ultimate, final resort, They boosted the price of ice. _ The crop was a failure; researches have found There isn’t enough of the stuff to go round, So why should the simple announcement astound, That they've boosted the price of ice? ‘Tis easy enough if you're asked to explain, Why they boosted the price of ice; It was dryness, humidity, sunshine and rain That augmented the price of ice. Now twelve are a dozen and twenty a score; Two added to two are immovably four; Former Motorist (absent-mindedly): sorry, DEAR, BUT If these be too few, I can give you some more, WE'VE RUN OUT OF GASOLINE. 'M AFRAID YOU'LL HAVE TO GET Why they boosted the price OUT AND WALK. of ice. Franklin P. Adams. Farce or Tragedy ? I". reminds one of the Dreyfus case, these doings of the S. P. C, A. The two members who showed more interest in the protection of animals than in the pleasure of Colonel Wagstaff, its presi- dent, were declared guilty in advance and are officially demolished. On the stage of a Broadway theatre it would be an amusing burlesque. In the rooms of the S. P. C, A. it becomes a melancholy thing. There is cause for both mirth and tears when a member is compelled to resign because he tried to infuse a little life into this somnolent body. Why this strange dread of achieving something? There is no dishonor in benevolent work. Brace up, brothers. Remember Henry Bergh. Give the animals a chance. Death's Shining Mark RAWFORD: Who was the man killed in the wreck? COLLEGE GIRLS Cransuaw: I don’t know, but he'll be “WHo's THE HOY WITH GERTIE AND MOLLY?” the fellow the coroner’s jury will put OH, SOME CO-ED, 1 GUESS.” the blame on. comicbooks.com