Life, 1912-10-31 · page 19 of 44
Life — October 31, 1912 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1912 *Life* magazine page contains two satirical pieces: **"Can We Stand It?"** mocks campaign promises of prosperity. Politicians claim the winning candidate will bring unprecedented wealth—but the author sarcastically warns this could make Americans lazy, gluttonous, and arrogant. The joke: promises of prosperity are so extravagant they're absurd. **"Big Feet"** responds to a news story that New York women's feet are growing larger (evidenced by increased stocking orders). A women's organization president celebrates this as progress—the "delicate" woman of the past yielding to a stronger modern woman. Life's editor agrees feet may be enlarging from urban exercise, then delivers the punchline: women's *brains* should grow proportionally to their feet. This is misogynistic satire suggesting women lack intelligence—a common trope of the era. The bottom cartoon (caption: "Are All Men Equal in the Eyes of the Law?") appears to depict street vendors or laborers, likely satirizing class inequality, though context is unclear from the image alone.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LIFE: FORGIVING HARE. Can We Stand It? dislikes to throw cold water upon a joyous and festive campaign, but aren't the candidates, in an ex- cess of zeal, promising us too much? We have read all the platforms and speeches of acceptance carefully and it ii that no matter how the thing goes, the United States is about to have the most monumental visitation of prosperity that ever swooped dowWh upon a sincere and earnest nation. Can we stand it? Are we equal to such an invasion of affluence? Isn't it likely to make us reckless and haughty and too proud to work? Aren't we likely to eat too much 2095 and sleep too much and grow fat, lazy, gouty and good- for-nothing? Wouldn't it be a good idea to revise those platforms? Let them promise to give only so much pros- perity as we are able to assimilate and negotiate. Big Feet HAT the feet of women in New York are growing larger has recently been demonstrated by the depart- ment store orders for larger stockings. Mrs. A. A. Berney, president of the local Mothers’ Congress in Washington, thinks this is a good sign, and that the tiny footed, delicate limbed creature of the past is to be superseded by the broad footed lady of the future. Well, well! this is interesting; but is it conclusive? For several years now New York has been constantly growing larger. Any person who lives in New York has to have the experience and agility of a Rocky Mountain goat. The chances are that this sort of exercise has had its effect upon the feet. We should be very much more encouraged if there were some way to develop the other end of our New York women. If their brains could only grow in proportion to their feet! ARE ALL MEN EQUAL IN THE EVES OF THE LAW? comicbooks.com