Life, 1911-11-23 · page 25 of 44
Life — November 23, 1911 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The page contains two satirical pieces critiquing early 20th-century American society. **"The Rising Flood" (top cartoon):** A caricatured boat overflowing with various figures represents "Socialism" threatening to engulf civilization. The image warns of socialist ideology as an overwhelming tide, reflecting anxieties common in this era about labor movements and radical politics. **"An Advertisement" (center text):** This sarcastically mocks wealthy Americans' pursuit of exclusive, expensive "culture"—fashionable status symbols requiring substantial wealth. The satire argues that traditional education (Latin, Greek, Shakespeare) is now "too easy" and insufficiently exclusive, so the wealthy now seek deliberately "useless" but "mysterious and awe-inspiring" luxuries to distinguish themselves from working-class people earning "two dollars a day." **"Approacheth Winter"** (left column): Humorously catalogs winter's mixed blessings—shorter days but longer heating bills, plus nostalgic childhood memories (snow, coughs, snowball fights). The page reflects Progressive-Era social criticism of class inequality and conspicuous consumption.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Approacheth Winter ! SHORTENING, shortening days! (And lengthening bills from the electric light company, gas office, coal- oil man, et al.) I feel the sharp, crisp air. (And wonder, as I feel, how the kids’ iast winter’s flannels held out.) I can almost already hear the creak of spotless snow under foot. (1 can like- wise hear Robbie's cough and feel the well-rocked snowballs against my cheek, sent by some lusty juvenile.) It is no wonder that the festive days of all the year should come now. (And a little extra summer expense in the form of certain vacation gambols is now sup- plemented with such Thanksgiving and Christmas expenditures as clear the pockethook of any .small change left therein.) What shall it be—a sympathetic rendering of “ Winter” or the mere jubilant “In the Good Old Summertime”? R.G. S. THE RISING FLOOD An Advertisement TED—A Culture. Something impressive and elevating and admiration - compelling. Something that fits in with modern speed and mod- ern leisure and which requires a great many dollars to purchase. Something that is so exclusive that a man who works for two dollars a day, when he can find a job, cannot possibly ac- quire it. The old forms of culture are no longer adequate. The ability to quote a little Latin and a little Greek and a little Shakespeare and a little Emerson no longer serves to set one apart from hoi polloi. It is too easy. A few hours in the library or a cor- respondence course does the work in less time than it takes to tell it. What we need is something that is perfectly useless, but at the same time mysterious and awe-inspiring. EVOLUTION—A time when the people cease to follow one set of leading citizens and select a new set. A PLAIN CIGARETTE CASE comicbooks.com