Life, 1912-10-17 · page 36 of 44
Life — October 17, 1912 — page 36: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This poem by Berton Braley mocks the ubiquitous tipping culture that American tourists encountered in Europe, particularly in port cities. The "bandits" are not criminals but rather porters, waiters, ship workers, and service staff who expected—and demanded—constant gratuities from travelers. The satire's point: European service workers operated a systematic extraction of money from wealthy American visitors. Every interaction, from boarding ship to daily activities, required a tip. The poem emphasizes the inescapability ("nothing at all is free") and the pirates' relentless pursuit of American wallets ("the whole day through that pirate crew / Is making your silver fly"). This reflects early 20th-century American anxieties about European travel costs and perceived exploitation. The exaggeration—that tipping is "fatal if you demur"—underscores how culturally entrenched and socially enforced these expectations were for travelers abroad.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The European Bandits (A WARNING TO THE TRAVELER) Bo: You tip on the ship as you start the trip, You tip every time you stir, You tip at the slip where the hawsers Franklin Simon & Co. th Ave. 37th & 38th Sts., New York : Str drip and It's fatal if you demur. Batu All superfluity goes for gratuity, polis! Tip every one you sec; spirit You slip ’em a tip when they grab your of grip, rests For nothing at all is free! whil As you open your eyes and start to rise feet There's some one to tip near by, sat worl And the whole day through that pirate crew Is making your silver Ay; And don’t you skip a single tip, Imported Japanese Bul scaler i cowatastiy a7 You must tip! tip! tip! for the whole Quilted Silk Gown ff long trip, o Re’ For nothing at all is free. Sizes 32 to 44 bust . Abn You must flip ‘em a tip like a gay old rip, * For nothing at all is free, No. 82. Women’s Hand - embroidered Ah, me! Imported Japanese Quilted Silk Gown, in navy, copenhagen or light blue, pink, red, violet, gray, brown, rose or black, lined with silk in contrasting color, hand- somely hand-embroidered in silk, fastened with silk frogs, cord and tassel » 10.95 No. 82a. Same model without embroidery , 6.75 FALL AND WINTER STYLE BOOK “CORRECT DRESS”’ Illustrating Everything in Wearing Apparel Mailed out of town upon application to Dept. N. No, nothing at all is free! —Berton Braley, in New York Sun. Scarce At the consecration of a certain French cardinal, there were a great num- ber of bishops sitting under the dome of the Sorbonne, where the ceremony was performed, when a ly present, aston- ished with the spectacle, exclaimed : “What a fine sight is this, to sec all these bishops sitting in such order! Me- —— thinks Lam in heaven.” “In heaven,” re- Tt plied the gentleman who sat next to her; “why, madam, there are not in heaven ne half so many bishops as you see here.” SurBrRuG’s ARCADIA MIXTURE The Tobaccos are all aged. Age improves flavor; adds mildness; prevents biting. In the blending, seven different tobaccos are used, Surbrug’s “Arcadia” is in a class by itself—nothing so rich in flavor—so exhilarat- ing in quality. A mild stimulant. At Your Dealers. SEND 10 CENTS tor narmple which will convince. THE SURBRUG COMPANY 204 Broadway New York This Joke a Globe Trotter About fifteen years ago an editor down in Boone County moulded a good joke. It was in an African setting and went this way: “Come up and jine de army of de Lord, sister.” “Ah done jin Where you jinc?” “TI jine de Baptist Church.” “Lawdie, sister, dat ain't de army! Dat’s de nav This joke “Went the rounds. Vaude- ville performers finally seized upon it, and Marshall P, Wilder used it in a private vaudeville at Windsor Castle and got a laugh out of the late King Edward, London Punch used it and paid real money for it. Finally it was permitted to retire. Recently some one dug it up and sold it to Judge, and the joke is now meeting with large success in the scene of its first activity. You can't keep a good joke down. —Kansas City Times. 2020 BELLEW | JACK LONDON A splendid tafe of adventure and love in the Klondike, with the lure of the Klondike’s ice- bound treasuresand the wine of a strong man’s joy in life’s elemental things pictured as only Jack London can picture them. Illustrations by Monahan. Price $1.30 net, postage 12 cents. THE CENTURY CO., New York sad prt comicbooks.com