Life, 1912-01-11 · page 19 of 40
Life — January 11, 1912 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page mocks an American socialite's presumption and the English legal system's correction of it. Mrs. Drummond (formerly married to Marshall Field Jr., the wealthy Chicago department store heir) attempted to control conductor Casano's behavior at her ball, based on false gossip. When she refused to apologize for the false accusation, Casano sued and won damages in English court. The satire cuts two ways: it ridicules the American wealthy woman for her snobbish attempt to "teach people their places" while praising English courts for holding her accountable. The "Five Senses" cartoon below illustrates the theme humorously—each sense represents human behavior and character, suggesting the American lady lacked good judgment (common sense). The page celebrates that even the socially prominent face legal consequences in England.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Teaching People Their Places” TH is a pleasant story that the Springfield Republican has gath- ered from the foreign news about the American lady in London and the conductor of the orchestra that she wanted to engage for a dance. It was Casano’s orchestra, and she had heard that at a ball where his orchestra had played, Casano had asked a girl to dance. So she wrote to the agent of the orchestra and warned him that “Mrs. Drummond will not tolerate behavior of this kind at her ball, and she would be glad if you would in- form Casano accordingly.” Strange to say, Casano was dis- pleased with the letter. The story, as it happened, was not true. A guest at a dance, for a joke, had impersonated him. Casano denied Mrs, Drum- mond’s accusation and demanded an apology. None was given him, so he brought suit for damages and got them, five pounds and costs, the dam- ages being light because the lady had been misled. The story is particularly amusing to the Republican, because, it says: Mrs, Maldwin, Drummond used to be Mrs. “Marshall Field, Jr.) and Marshall Ficld, Sr., Marsh,” or “Mart” for short, is not forgotten in Conway, where he milked the cows and hoed the potatoes and attend- ed the district school what time the farm lid not claim his services; nor yet in Pitts feld, where at 17 he began “clerking” in a dry goods store. Some things are very well done in the English courts. “My YOUNG FRIEND, DO YOU EVER STOP 10 THINK OF- 2" “NO; 1 CAN THINK WITHOUT sToP- Prix SMELLING HEARING Tt nuers me) | MERE Tram youl \ FEELING THE FIVE SENSES