Life, 1913-06-05 · page 48 of 52
Life — June 5, 1913 — page 48: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page's central feature is a satirical article about "the coal baron," illustrated with a cartoon depicting a well-dressed man in a top hat towering over a poor woman and child. The satire exposes economic exploitation during the early 20th century. The "coal baron" was a wealthy industrialist who controlled coal mines and distribution. Life's critique highlights the price-gouging these barons practiced: they charged railroad presidents (whom they knew) $2 per ton, but charged poor women in slums $8 per ton or more for the same product. The piece sarcastically questions whether poor women can be "trusted" to pay inflated prices, implying they couldn't afford honest rates. This reflects genuine Progressive-era anger at monopolistic practices and wealth inequality. Coal was essential for heating homes, making price manipulation particularly exploitative of the poor. The cartoon visually conveys the power imbalance between the wealthy baron and vulnerable customers dependent on his coal for survival.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
| This small, already to set positive, quiet- right on top |running little of your blower comes booth. ROW E’S BED HAMMOCK Fresh Air in Your Telephone Booth The Standard Hammock 35 years of experience back of Rowe’s Gloucester Ham- mocks. Made to stand up and look fresh under severest con- ditions of use; many are now giving first-class service after 10 years’ constant use. Made of the highest grade white or khaki duck (extra heavy) by sail-makers. Our khaki duck is genuine khaki, which will not fade or rot the fabric or stain garments. Write for the ROWE BOOKLET and we will tell you where yee can purchase our hammocks; mention Life. We absolutely guarantee complete satisfaction in every particular. Below is a reproduction of our silk Jabel by which you can identify the genuine Rowe Gloucester Hammock. EE the coal baron. Sometimes this is spelled Baeron. The coal baron is a person who owns large quantities of coal and deals them out to different persons, some of whom he has never met; he gets vari- ous prices for his coal, according to how well he knows the persons who may need it Sometimes he knows the president of a railroad very well, and as a favor, and just as a testimonial of his re- gard, he lets such a person have coal for two dollars a ton. But when he sells his coal to a lady in the slums, to whom he has never been presented, he charges her eight dollars a ton for it. Sometimes he charges more than this, if he thinks the lady cannot be trusted; and what lady in the slums can be trusted? We know of no such lady; they may exist, but we have never met them, But we were speaking of coal barons. Each coal baron has a mine of his own. And sometimes more. If he is a plain, ordinary coal baron, he may own but one mine; but if he is an ex- ceptional coal baron, wise and pure and patriotic, and loves God as God ought to be loved, then he may own more than one coal mine. You do not need to be uncomfortable in your telephone booth—not even during the hottest days. Install a Telephone Booth Ventilator It makes a telephone booth a pleasant place even on the hottest days. It completely changes the air in the booth ever few minutes, positively filling the booth with fresh air—a positive, constant air change. On account of its comfort and nominal cost the Sturtevant set should b: in every telephone booth. It will be. once it is generally known. Many hotels, clubs and business houses have al- ready installed them. Write at once for full par. ticulars—Ask for booklet L 6. B. F. Sturtevant Company Hyde Park, Boston, Mia: and all principal cities of the wor! Also distributed by Western Electric Company Taxes, philosopher, conducted from his house one night by his old house- keeper to see the stars, tumbled into a ditch. “Do you expect, sir,” she asked, “ever to know things above your head if you don’t sce things under your fect?” POWTER ARE BORN OF ‘‘America’s Leading Lubricants” |Your Motor Car Motor Cycle Motor Boat (Geo. | The | ton. ( Forti H. Dor Out Laing. Cour Sullivas Zone berg. (G. P. The John Ej 4 Pr mann Hego | Will have added speed and power, if lubricated Goodms | with these QUALITY oils. They are devoid of The ( carbonizing ingredients—test-free from impurities hey Un —the product of the highest grade Pennsylvania Swece | crude oil properly refined. They are distinctly body | better oils. $1.25.) “A Little Goes « Long Way and Seing Every Drop Counte.” Weed, A. W. HARRIS OIL CO. Home and would have to depend upon get- Bort, ( ing hi i ket- 326 S. Water St., le ting his coal on the state of his pocket: TS Now Websch i The ( book. SS (Little, There is no particular rule about this; at least we have never been able to discover any. Does the coal baron belong to the nobility? Certainly; how could he be a coal baron if he did not so belong? He would then be an ordinary citizen A PROMISING TRAINER 2F¢ comicbooks.com