Life, 1913-03-27 · page 18 of 60
Life — March 27, 1913 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines social satire with entertainment commentary from the early 1900s. **"An Advertisement" (left):** A mock lost-and-found notice for "Perfect Understanding"—the imagined harmonious relationship between Capital and Labor. The satire suggests this understanding has vanished, with wages disputes likely responsible. It's directed at the Civic Federation, implying labor-capital relations were fractured during this period of industrial unrest. **"In the Stilly Night" (center):** A humorous poem listing famous musicians and singers (Caruso, Harry Lauder, Gus Williams, Damrosch, Kreisler, etc.) performing their hit songs. The joke: these phonograph recordings play endlessly at night, torturing the listener—a complaint about the new technology's social impact. **Right cartoon:** Satirizes modern dance and morality. The "Turkey Trot" was a scandalous new dance considered indecent. The joke mocks how society people justify it while chaperoning, with the caption revealing the chaperone herself is dancing it—hypocrisy about "respectable" behavior.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“wep! HELP! THERE'S A MON- STROUS SPIDER IN HERE—— OH, no! yoU MUSTN'T CoME IN.” An Advertisement OST—One Perfect Understanding. This was the most beautiful Perfect Understanding ever known, and was the joint property, guide, helpmeet and companion of Messrs. Capital and Labor. So long as Per- fect Understanding inhabited the premises and passively lay there stretched out upon the hearth rug, all was peace and harmony, joy and good will, profit and industry, love, kisses, milk, honey, nectar, ambrosia and myrrh. When Perfect Understanding sud- denly departed, bag and baggage, no explanation was left behind indicat- ing its whereabouts or the cause of its departure, although wages is thought to have something to do with the mat- ter. Finder will please return to Civic Federation and receive blessing. «ETE E In the Stilly Night Cees bravely sang the “Grand Old Flag"; “In terra solo” Harry Lauder sang. Pol Plangon warbled “That Italian Rag”; Gus Williams gave the “ Prize Song” with a bang, mbrich pouring out “ Poor You Are Just the Man And Eva Tanguay, with a smile, came on And rang the changes on “ Ah! fors’ é lui.” De Pachmann wrung “ Bill Simmons” from the flute, And Elman beat the tomtom with much pride; I heard Fritz Kreisler toying with the lute And Damrosch playing on the ophi- cleide. Ah, when you go to bed and slumber seek, This is the sort of dreaming that you do When regularly, seven nights a week, Your friends grind out their phono- graphs to you! Nathan M. Levy. “THEY AREN'T LOVERS; THEY ARE y NICE SOCIETY PEOPLE DANCING TURKEY TROT.” “BUT HOW CAN THAT GIRL’ CIAP- ERON ALLOW HER TO DANCE IT?" “usu! THAT'S THE CIAPERON!” EXCLUDED FROM THE MALES comicbooks.com