Life, 1912-05-09 · page 32 of 48
Life — May 9, 1912 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features reader correspondence—a standard magazine section. Key letters address social inconsistencies: **The Doctor's Satire**: A physician sarcastically proposes the government abolish public health measures (quarantine, vaccination, antitoxin) to keep doctors perpetually busy. The bitter joke critiques the medical profession for supposedly opposing their own interests—suggesting doctors secretly resist disease prevention that would eliminate their patient base. **The Clergyman's Complaint**: A minister attacks Life's hypocrisy: the magazine champions animal welfare and opposes vivisection while simultaneously running liquor advertisements. He cites a 1911 cartoon showing a drunk man sprawled on the ground with caption "One of the Lower Animals"—arguing the liquor industry, not the animal, deserves blame. The editor's response defends advertising standards: ads need only avoid fraud, not promote morality. **Context**: This reflects Progressive Era debates about corporate responsibility, public health, and editorial ethics. The clergyman's moral argument—that publications shouldn't profit from substances causing crime and poverty—was common temperance-movement rhetoric circa 1912.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
We Are Constantly in Receipt of Important Letters Which Are Too Long for Our Limited Space. A Proposition Eprtor or Live: Drax Sir: I am a doctor and it is rradually dawning on my dull brain that we asa class are a lot of blither- ing idiots. Just imagine! all these years we have been investigating causes and cures of diseases for the benefit of man- kind in general and very generally to the detriment of our pockets. Do you know of any other class of men who are so blind to their own interests as to sit up nights figuring out means of killing their own business? People (judging from the letters which appear in your paper) evidently do not appre- ciate our efforts, I wonder if Mr. Rus- sell Elliott, of Dayton, Ohio, really thinks for a minute that the vaccine lymph was responsible for the case of tetanus he cites? Now here's a proposition which I would like you to urge (in the interest of doctors). The Government to abol- ish quarantine of ports, quarantine of houses, boards of health, prohibit use of antitoxin, vaccination and vivisection. Then doctors would be worked to death. If the Government did do such a thing doctors would insist on continuing to be idiots and would fight the move- ment. Yours truly, Freo Puteston. Monticetto, Iowa February 26, 1912. From a Clergyman Eptror Lire: Dear Six: I read with great enjoy- ment your paper, except when it bor- ders on sacrilegious subjects, as I fear it sometimes its pictures and articles on religious subjects, Especially am I gratified at the atti- tude taken in behalf of the lower ani- mals, You are most emphatic in antag- onizing cruelty, especially viviscetion, As I read the numerous liquor adver- tisements, however, I wonder at your great inconsistency in thus acting as ad- vertising agent for articles that not only does in Brevity is Absolutely Essential to Publication waste money, but produce, according to The Liquor Dealers’ Journal's biased and, therefore, limited confession, 30 per cent, of crime and 25 per cent. of poverty. In your issue of September 14, 1911, there was a picture of a dog holding in its mouth the hat of its owner, who was sprawling on the ground, drunk. The caption was, “One of the Lower Ani- mals.” What made the man drunk and thus made him the lower animal, in- ferior to the dog, but the intoxicating and degrading liquor that you advertise and encourage men to buy and drink? Why not have as much regard for a man as for a dog? Why oppose the in- jury to the dog’s body and then help the business that destroys both the body and the soul of man? I will be pleased to hear your justi- fication for the inconsistency. Sincerely yours, Atroro Keutry. March 1, 1912. Our friend's error is based on a fun- damental misconception of the editor's responsibility over advertisements. This responsibility covers only deccit or intentional misrepresentation. That is to say, an editor is bound not to use advertisements which he knows to be frauds and which are intended to de- ceive the public. His responsibility ends there. In the case of whiskey advertisements, the goods are what they are said to be. Whiskey is whiskey. The man who reads the “ad” can take it or leave it. That is not the editor's business. —Eprtor or Lies. Word from Europe (Extract from letter.) I see Lire pretty regularly and enjoy it, of course, as every American does, more than anything else from “God's country.” It certainly is American, in the best from and a refreshing oa: different land, Erar sense, cover s to an to cover, exile in B. K, s, Pas pe Carats, France, February 19, 1912 Our One Subscriber Dear Lire: Zinda basad! (may you live!) y your izzat ever increase! Naksbol Khan, the servant of my esteemed fri 1 the Mestufi-al-Mamalik, Chancellor the Exchequer, just arrived with twe copies of Lire in one of his yakd: By way of explanation, the postage r from India here, is one abasi per m kal, or 40 cents an ounce. So all | my letters come by khafila (caravan) i stead of by dak runner, 250 miles fro Peshawur here. The last time I saw a news-paper w three months ago, and that was an ol! one. I never read your Editorial page carefully before; I even smiled at som of your jokes. Some of my Afgh friends wanted to know what it was a about and I showed them some of th pictures, and which was right side uj They could easily recognize animals; some of them recognized motor cars a+ vehicles of travel; flying machines cre- ated interest; but pictures of unveiled ladies were subject to criticism, and it is not right that they should be allowed to sit on the front seat. Your Chica number I suppressed for obvious re: sons; it is not good to picture the un- clean animal, and, moreover, unlawful I tried to explain one of your jokes, but failed; too obscure and far fetched. At first it seemed to me curious that so many of your drawings could not Ix recognized for what they were, but sup- pose you had never seen half a doz. pictures of any sort, and it occurred to me that our drawings are things of out line and conventional signs and symbols "Scuse me for talking, but this is th first time in twelve years and beside, have not seen a paper or spoken to European in three months; moreover, claim especial attention as being you only subscriber in this Kingdom. started out to say that I am taking step to renew my subscription; it comes higl but it is the only Lire here. Yours faithfully, Pursinot P, S.—I have purposely withheld 1 address, Some enterprising Americ» (Continued on page 080)