Life, 1912-02-15 · page 18 of 44
Life — February 15, 1912 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1910s-era *Life* magazine cartoon satirizes debates over banking reform. The main illustration shows Andrew Jackson's ghost (identified by the caption) confronting a bloated banker sitting atop a massive money chest labeled "Banking Interests." The cartoon references Joseph W. Folk's alternative to the **Aldrich Plan**—a proposed banking reform. Jackson, a historical figure famous for opposing centralized banking power, is invoked as validation of Folk's simpler approach: rather than letting banks dictate government monetary policy, the government should manage currency itself. The satire mocks the banking establishment's complexity and self-interest. The text argues Folk's proposal is refreshingly sensible because he's *not* an expert bureaucrat—he doesn't obfuscate with jargon. The caption "By the eternal! At it again!" suggests Jackson would recognize banks still manipulating government, just in updated form. The page also includes a sentimental poem about love (unrelated to the political content).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Song OVE was a flow'r That bloomed an hour And died. Love was a rose, Whose petals froze With pride. Love was a bird That sang unheard At night. Love was a song Of verses long And light. Love was a mist That daylight kissed And flew — Who dear love brings May be all things— Save true! He TREASURY ANP Test Lovtie Beret. » ¢ make IT ELASTIC, A Substitute R. JOSEPH W. FOLK, former Governor of Missouri, has put forward a substitute for the Aldrich Plan. There are two remarkable things about it. The first remarkable thing is that he feels competent to say sensible things about the currency without belonging to a National Monetary Commission and traveling all over the world and collecting vast volumes of nonsensical statistics at the public expense. The second remarkable thing is that his idea is simple and can be under- stood without consulting a college pro- fessor, a bank cashier or a grafting politician. As we understand it, Mr. Folk makes no claim to being an expert. If he did, it would be im- possible for him to display so much common sense. His substitute may be explained in / a word. Read the Aldrich Plan and, whenever you find a proposal that the S Government do something for the SLABS NOSS 5 banks, let the Government do that very SSS SSS thing for itself. That's his idea. SESSILIS We dare say that the average banker foun, could easily see in it something that threatened to undermine the founda- tions of our world power, but to those of us who do not aspire to expert- Spirit of Andrew Jackson: “sy THE ETERNAL! AT IT AGAIN!” ness, it has a welcome sound. Ellis O. Jones, comicbooks.com