Life, 1912-08-01 · page 28 of 40
Life — August 1, 1912 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon satirizes endless materialism and greed. Six figures progress left-to-right, each carrying increasingly larger money bags labeled with escalating amounts ($1,000 to $500,000,000). Their captions show perpetual dissatisfaction: each claims they'd be happy with their stated amount, yet the final figure, crushed under the largest sack, realizes wealth means nothing—he'd "gladly give all I own if I could get back my health." The satire targets the American obsession with wealth accumulation. No matter how much money one acquires, happiness remains elusive. The final figure's revelation—that health and wellbeing matter more than riches—serves as the moral critique. Below, "Life's Vibration Parlors" mocks trendy New Thought/spiritualism movements popular in the 1920s. A man uses mysticism and meditation to convince himself his wife doesn't actually exist (she's merely "illusion"). The satire exposes how people weaponize pseudo-spiritual philosophy to rationalize selfish or delusional behavior, rather than addressing real problems.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1. “IP 1 ONLY HAD TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS 1'p BE HAPPY.” 3 2, “Gee! 1 WISH I HAD A HUNDRED THOUSAND.” 3. “ALL T NEED NOW 1S A FEW MORE MILLION: . 3. “WHEN 1 GET A MILLION I'LL Quit.” “AD GLADLY GIVE ALL TOWN IF 1 COULD GET HACK MY HrALTH.” Would You Vibrate With Joy? "ea of consciousness, so far as about them at first have dificulty in the thing called She is concerned, throwing off this influen (Concluded from page 1526) is no longer agitated. We give daily tests. If you doubt, I am at present concentrating come during the morning hours and on seven cocktail glasses a day— communicate with any relative you the kind with glass cherries in the like. We can put you in touch with bottom. Of course they are not your great-grandiather in no time there. The only reality is Om.” The pass word to our seances is “ Tid- Remember that those who are pos- _ le-dy-winks.” sessed by the illusion of objects all Life's Vibration Parlors. sessed with the notion that his wife is teal that he cannot understand that the only reality is the Self, which is com- prehended finally by the syllable Om. The veil of Maya is still over his eyes. The following letter will explain the second or advanced plane: “Dear Sirs: At last I understand. My wife no longer troubles me. All. is harmony. I had a hard time at first. I went into the silence and was dragged out of it four times (apparently) before the realiza- tion that it was all my mind. From that moment I was in harmony with the great forces. Swami Baa Baa is the peach of yogis. Convey to him the adum- bration of my permanent homage. He is an all star rhythmic har- monic troupe in himself. The thing came about quite eas- ily. My wife and I had not got along for years. The first moment I tried to believe that she had no objective existence, the thought currents that possessed me were too much. She appeared to throw me down stairs. I know now this was not so. I realize that it could- n't happen. The only reality is the elimination of the disharmonies. My wife no longer exists as a disturbing influence. I hear— vaguely—that she is visiting her family. This only means that my THE SMUGGLERS’ LAIR comicbooMeeen