Life, 1911-08-31 · page 26 of 38
Life — August 31, 1911 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces from early 20th-century Life magazine: **"An Item in the Credit Column"** mocks John W. Gates (a steel magnate who died August 9, likely 1911), suggesting that despite his ruthless business dealings and obsession with money and sport, he maintained a stable marriage—presented as his only redeeming quality through dry, deadpan humor. **"Amending the Public Manners"** straightforwardly discusses New York's anti-hoodlumism campaign in public transit, arguing respectful civic behavior is foundational to liberty. **"Mr. Wickersham Says"** satirizes Attorney General James Sherman Wickersham's proposal that government should fix commodity prices. The satire's point: asking *who* is the government? The financial trusts control it anyway, particularly J.P. Morgan and his network—so government price-fixing merely legitimizes their existing monopoly power. The accompanying cartoon shows wealthy figures on a swing while others toil. **"Poor Dog"** is a light humorous poem about how women's changing fashions (from restrictive hobble skirts to looser harem pants) affect his walking pace.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ME AN’ An Item in the Credit Column HERE were many columns of reading in the papers about John W. Gates, but, on the whole, nothing better worth recording than was tersely set down in a corner of the Evening Post, to GATES.—On Wednesday, August 9, at Paris, France, John W., beloved hus- band ‘of Dellora R. Gates. They say that the deceased, in sp of his rapid acquirement of moncy, his connection with the steel business and his enormous concern for sport, was a permanently, affectionately and consist- ently married man. OR a while Adam was a leading citi- zen of the Garden of Eden. NER Amending the Public Manners FINE little detail of public education to which special attention is being paid by the authorities in New York this year is the suppression of hoodlumism in the public vehicles. To teach roughs not to be disorderly in the presence of other passengers is enormously important. Respect for public order and assurance that violation of it will be punished is es- sential to the maintenance of any com- fortable degree of civilization. It be- longs to the police and the police-courts to supplement wha'ever the public schools may do to te~h the rising gener ation that the very oundation of liberty is respect for the rzhts and reasonable privileges of others. Mr. Wickersham Says— R. WICKERSHAM'S idea is that the Government should fix the prices of all commodities; this being the case, it then becomes only necessary to find out who the Government is. Is the Government the Stcel Trust? Is it the Pensioners’ Trust? Is it Mr. Morgan? Mr. Taft s Government, but what part? is a part, but what part? It has been said that the financial terests, take them together, control the In this case the financial cms to be a part of the Congress Government. interests would naturally fix the prices of commodities. But the financial interests do this now —and so there you are! Mr. Wickersham says that once the law of supply and demand governed prices, but that this is no longer true, and as long as it isn’t true, the Govern- ment should step in and control them, Mr. Wickersham goes on the principle that the Government is the people; or to turn this about, that the pcople is the Government. To prove this, you would have to get all the people together—to corral them—and then ask them if they were the Government; if they said in chorus that they were, you would natu- rally have to believe them, but this wouldn't make any difference, because the next moment they would be running off to a baseball game. Only Mr. Morgan would remain on deck; Mr. Mor; and his trained band of financiers and politicians, including Steel Trust, the Ice Trust, the Rail- d Trusts and all the others. cr than its weakest link; Mr. Morgan is, therefore, the Gov- ernment. What Mr. W! POOR DOG When she wore the hobble skirt We walked as slow as ants; But now she has those harem things That make me, too, have pants comicbooks -cCO