Life — April 3, 1913 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Life" - A Modern Fairy Story This satirical piece mocks the American financial elite's pursuit of wealth. "The Butcher, the Baker and the Candlestick Maker" (referencing the nursery rhyme) decided life in the country offered easy living. However, they discovered that obtaining goods required capital—the butcher needed twelve cents per pound for pigs, creating an unexpectedly high cost of living. Inspired by this lesson, the baker became a "large stockholder in a national trust" to acquire shares in Standard Oil. The candlestick maker similarly profited. The satire's moral: three "quaint worthies" from literature died poor, while modern businessmen grew wealthy through stock manipulation and financial schemes rather than honest labor. The accompanying illustration shows two figures in a rural landscape, captioned "In the Spring a Young Man's Fancy"—likely depicting romantic aspirations versus financial reality.