Life, 1912-07-11 · page 20 of 44
Life — July 11, 1912 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1912 *Life* page satirizes gender politics and American attitudes toward women's rights through three pieces: **"Window Smashing"** mocks British suffragist Dr. Ethel Smythe, who reportedly smashed windows after a man (Mr. Harcourt) said he'd support women's voting if they were as intelligent as his wife. The satire contrasts English and American men: English gentlemen don't publicly praise wives (thus provoking violence), while American men casually praise theirs without consequence. The piece suggests Americans tolerate suffrage because they're indifferent rather than principled. **"The Operation"** uses dark humor about surgical incompetence—doctors surrounding a patient who dies, yet call it "successful"—likely mocking professional arrogance. **"The Business Situation"** features a burglar giving economic commentary, absurdly presenting crime as a legitimate industry affected by public opinion and law enforcement. The satire criticizes both crime and possibly the serious economic discussion surrounding it. Overall, the page reflects early 20th-century American attitudes: patronizing toward women's suffrage, cynical about professional institutions, and satirizing social disorder.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1392 Afar H, leagues of tossing, tumbled sea I loved so very dear— You take my joy away from me— My love is far from here! Oh, leagues of shining, changing blue, So wonderful and deep— Bear out upon the heart of you The memory I keep! On all the little, crested waves, That rise and fall and break, On all the foam that sea beach loves My whispered message take! In every, curvéd, tinted shell, In cach entangled weed, The passion of my yearning tell That he alone may read. Upon the gleaming, silver strand He treads so far away As clear as written by my hand, The longing of to-day! That all the breakers white that leap Upon the rocky shore May tell him that alone I weep And love htm evermore. Oh, winds that blow; oh, stars that shine, Oh, restless, ceaseless sea, Take, take this aching heart of mine To him who for me! Leolyn Louise Everett. Window Smashing D* ETHEL SMYTHE, of London, recently testified in court that the reason she smashed a certain Mr. Har- court’s windows because that gen- tleman had made the statement that he would not object to women voting if they were all of them as intelligent and as admirable as his own wife. Mrs. Smythe got mad at this and let herself loose. Moreover, she claimed that she had a perfect right to smash any man’s windows who made the statement that his wife was intelli- gent. We must, however, not be too hard upon Mrs. Smythe. We must remem- ber that this happened in England. It is not the practise of all Englishmen to praise their wives in public. The fact that Mr. Harcourt did it was “LIFE: doubtless reprehensible. He ought to have known better. American men praise their wives as = matter of habit. They praise them Lecause they admire them, and because they like to pay their bills, and rejoice in the fact that their wives -re easily superior beings. That is the reason the suffrage movement in this country is not so serious it is in England. The American man is not trying very much to oppose it; he smiles at it, and tolerates it, and doesn’t much mind it. The American man is not getting his windows smashed for praising his own wife because she is superior, The American man does not always think that his wife is superior. Sometimes he thinks that the wives of other men are superior. If he praised his own wife nobody would care. The only thing for Mr. Harcourt to do is to immigrate to Ameri Here he can say what he pleases in his own wife’s favor and live in a glass house if he wants to. He will be perfectly safe. Bor READY MAID The Operation OCTORS to right of him, Doctors to left of him, Doctors in front of him, Eager and questful, Each with a skillful eye fo find the reason why— What though the patient dic? It was successful! G. B. The Business Situation R. VELVET PILLOWFEET, the well-known burglar, returned from Europe yesterday on the Pe. lumphic. When asked about the bu: ness situation he said: “There is no need for worry over the burglar business. In spite of the disturbances of recent months, under- lying conditions are sound and re- sources are plentiful. And yet, al- though I am thoroughly optimistic, I want to say that no noticeable revival of burglary can be looked for at once. So long as the authorities continue their meddling, and so long as the peo- ple are willing to listen to inflamma- tory agitators, our solidest burglars will not undertake new commitments. The public mind has been stirred up until it thinks burglars are much worse than they really are. It is actually coming to the point in this country where a man who is good to his fam- ily cannot turn a dishonest penny with- out having to undergo annoying in- vestigations by Congress and the police and the muck-rakers. “Ido not deny, of course, that bur- glary should be regulated, nor do I ob- ject to a modicum of government con- trol which might even go so far as to limit the amount which a duly-licensed burglar may make at any one haul, but I do think that burglary should be taken out of politics. For this purpose [ favor the creation of a National Burglary Board, to be appointed by the President and composed of leading respectable burglars.” Ellis O. Jones. Speed se HAT broke up home?” “It skidded, and struck a telegraph their happy comicbooweedl