Life, 1912-12-19 · page 19 of 40
Life — December 19, 1912 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Main Cartoon ("The Gambler"):** A man in a courtroom addresses a judge, proposing to gamble on his innocence—he'll accept conviction or acquittal without evidence. This satirizes corrupt legal systems where outcomes are predetermined rather than based on facts, mocking both the defendant's brazen confidence and the court's apparent indifference to actual justice. **"Too Much Courtesy" Article:** This criticizes a Rockefeller Institute scientist conducting experiments on 146 hospital patients without informed consent, framed as "courtesy" by physicians. The satire attacks the paternalistic arrogance of doctors who treat poor hospital patients as "material" for research—essentially property—rather than human beings deserving autonomy. It questions whether public hospitals serve patients or serve wealthy scientific institutions. **Football Team:** A humorous roster mixing contemporary political figures (Wilson, Roosevelt, Debs, Taft, Bryan, Hearst) as players, likely mocking 1912 election politics through sports metaphor. The specific assignments reflect satirical commentary on their political roles.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Gambler: say! YER HONOR, WHAT'S THE YLL MATCH YER WHETHER I'M GUILTY OR NOT Too Much Courtesy OURTESY is not, as a rule, alarm- ing. But the word takes a new meaning when a Rockefeller scientist is permitted to experiment on 146 hos- pital patients through the “courtesy” of the ph jans in charge. Had these experiments been made through the courtesy of the victims themselves we should be impressed by their spirit of self sacrifice. If the researcher had said to these patients: “Have I your permission to inject into your system a concoction more or less related to a hideous disease? ”"—the invalids might have declined. The more courteous physicians, however. kindly, grant per- mission to experiment—not on them- selves—but on 146 human beings in their care. In their benevolent, fatherly care. This sense of ownership on the part of hospital doctors— absolute and ir- responsible ownership of: their pa- tients, must be enjoyable. They appear to regard these patients as their per- sonal property; the public hospitals as branches of the Rockefeller Insti- tute, and persons confided to their care, along with dogs and monkeys, merely as so much “ material.” Is this the purpose of public hos- pitals? ? TIME LISTENIN’ TO THESE LAW-SHARKS? Life’s All-American Football Team IGHT Half—W. Wilson (cap- tain). Fullback—T. Roosevelt Left Half—E. Debs. Quarterback—O. Straus. Right End—H. Johnson. Right Tackle—W. Barnes. Right Guard—C. Murphy. Center—W. Taft. Left Guard—O, Underwood. Left Tackle—W. Bryan Left End—W. Sulzer. Water Boy—G. Perkins. Cheer Leader—W. Hearst comicbooks.com