Life — November 9, 1911 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Song of the Ticker" – Stock Exchange Satire This *Life* magazine page satirizes financial speculation and the chaotic stock market. The poem at top mocks gamblers pursuing wealth through "Chance" rather than honest work, warning against greed. The illustration below depicts "The Stock Exchange" as a crowded, frenzied marketplace. Signs visible include "French Accounts," "Italian Princes," "American Beauties," "Bogus Titles," and "Bond Securities"—suggesting the market trafficked in dubious foreign investments and worthless securities that duped American investors. The cartoon criticizes how ordinary people ("little men that swarm, like flies") engaged in speculative trading, driven by senseless figures spouting meaningless jargon. The overall message: the stock market is a con game where ordinary people lose money chasing false promises of wealth.