Life, 1913-02-27 · page 28 of 40
Life — February 27, 1913 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks Alabama's proposed child labor reforms as toothless and hypocritical. The text presents eight "suggested" laws in increasingly absurd language—beginning with reasonable-sounding restrictions (children under two shouldn't move safes), then revealing their true intent through ironic loopholes. The core joke: each "protection" is immediately undermined. Children can work 23 hours daily "without consent." Those under sixteen can work anywhere "if it can find a job." Crucially, point 8 states the laws won't actually change working conditions—they're purely performative. The cartoon illustrates "Cora Will Never Marry. She Is Too Indifferent"—depicting a young woman indifferent to suitors, likely commentary on women's exploitation through labor rather than marriage. The "That Gone Feeling" illustration suggests loss or resignation about reform's failure. This attacks Alabama's legislature for appearing to address child labor abuse while ensuring nothing substantively changes—satire on corporate power blocking genuine worker protections.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
428 Reform in Alabama | Falta TING informa- tion reaches us from Alabama. It is said she is coming to believe that profits are not everything when children are to be dealt. with. Accordingly Yip the following are some ay the humane revisions in 2X the child labor laws which ane are to be suggested if the Legislature ever meets aj 1. No child under two shall be al- lowed to labor at moving safes, shoc- ing horses, chopping down trees, stok- ing engines or tending bar. 2. No child shall be allowed to work more than twenty-three hours in any one day without the consent of its employer. 3. No child under sixteen shall be allowed to work in any mine, field, factory, workshop or elsewhere un- less it can find a job. 4. As children should be taught con- sideration for their elders and respect for the rights of property, it is impor- tant that any attempts to have their wages raised, their hours of labor re- duced or their conditions of labor im- proved should be promptly and de- cisively discouraged by employers and parents. 5. On and after the passage of this act, it shall be compulsory for children THAT GONE FEELING “CORA WILL NEVER MARRY. between the age of five to go to school, provided the employers consent and provided also there are schools to which they can go. 6. Any child caught swimming, fish- ing, playing ball or otherwise wasting its time shall be deemed to be a crim- inal under the statutes, which were drawn to prevent labor unions from getting a foothold. This section shall be construed to be in favor of the As it is not good for the child to be deprived of all pleasure, nothing in the foregoing section shall he con- strued to prevent any child in Alabama from sledding, tobogganing, ice ska ing, skiing, throwing snow-balls making snow men. SHE JS TOO INDIFFERENT” 8. In order that business shall not be violently interfered with, nothing in the foregoing shall be construed to make conditions any different after the passage of this law from what they were before. Highest Authorities U CLE EZRA: Eph Hoskins is some stubborn fighter. NCLE Ensen: You bet. Eph ain't satisfied as easily as most men. If Eph sees a Supreme Court decision tha don't agree with his view of the mat- ter he don't stop there; no, sir, he car- ries it right up to the Methodist par- son, and if he don't agree with Eph, he carries it clear up to the school teacher. comicbooks.com