Life, 1912-10-24 · page 27 of 48
Life — October 24, 1912 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon ("The Wanderer"):** A surrealist/science-fiction illustration showing an alien spacecraft visiting planets. The artistic merit suggests commentary on modern life's growing disconnection from art and inspiration. **Text Discussion:** A conversation (likely featuring J.P. Morgan, the famous banker and art collector) laments that American life has become purely practical and commercial. Morgan notes that even impressive financial feats—underwriting loans, reorganizing railroads—no longer inspire genuine artistic enthusiasm. The satire targets wealthy industrialists' prioritization of profit over cultural refinement. **"Metropolisville Qualifies":** Satirizes small-town aspirations to big-city status. The town claims legitimacy because it has scandals (murder mysteries, official corruption, labor strikes, dictaphones in City Hall)—suggesting these are markers of "civilization" rather than genuine urban development. **Bottom Cartoon:** A domestic joke about women's suffrage, depicting a wife demanding her husband "cherish and vote as she dictates"—mocking fears that granting women voting rights would threaten male authority in marriage.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
and very inartistic one. It’s too bad. Poor old Art!” J. P. Morgan munched his cigar a few moments before replying : “Yes,” he said, “it’s true, of course. And I have done all I could in the last few years by bringing over art tr ures to meet the deficiency. It is no longer an artistic achievement to underwrite a Government loan, reorgan- ize a railroad, or create a panic in Wall Street. It is a purely automatic process at present, and the fine inspira- tion, the feverish sense of enthusiasm, in fact, all of the various emotions that a real artist feels, are no longer We are getting to be a practical people. present. Great shame, isn’t it? Metropolisville Qualifies “But you can’t really call Metropolisville a city.” “We can't, huh? Why, we've got a street car strike on that lasted a month, two murder mysteries, the Mayor and the Chief of Police under grand jury indictments and thirty-seven dictaphones in the City Hall.” atthe ladies’ istic of women is IIE lecturer was discussing “Woman luncheon, He said: rhe characte that they always apply things personally. “Why,” said the hostess angrily, I don't.” THE WANDERER ILL SYKES now dresses very elegantly, and finds it much more profitable to send his children into the sweatshops : WILT THOU THY WIFE DICTATES? “Twins.” LOVE, CHERISH AND VOTE AS comicbooks.com