Life — March 20, 1913 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page This page from *Life* magazine's "Fashion Number" contains a poem titled "A Sure Rule" by Carolyn Wells, paired with a satirical illustration about financial speculation. The poem offers investing advice in three stanzas: what you buy will either rise or fall; buying leads to losses; tips from inside sources create temporary gains before inevitable drops. The illustration below shows a crowded stock exchange or trading floor, with "CHILDREN ARE CHEAPER THAN GROWN-UPS" as its caption. The image depicts financial chaos—multiple figures in frantic activity, suggesting frenzy or panic trading. Together, the poem and cartoon satirize stock market speculation and get-rich-quick schemes popular in the era. The caption's dark humor suggests people gamble away fortunes chasing profits. This appears to critique financial recklessness and the illusion of easy wealth.