Life, 1913-07-10 · page 29 of 44
Life — July 10, 1913 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate satirical pieces mocking early 20th-century social trends: **"Efficiency"** ridicules obsessive factory optimization. A captain of industry eliminates all "waste"—including worker conversation and leisure—to maximize productivity. The joke: after twenty years, the second generation of workers unanimously fires him, and the London *Times* reports it as evidence of rising Socialism. The satire suggests that extreme efficiency destroys human dignity and ironically breeds the very worker rebellion management fears. **"Privacy"** jokes about railroad rules preventing people from accompanying friends to train gates during farewells. The punchline is darkly sentimental: parting from loved ones "ought to be done in private"—implying these may be final goodbyes. **"Profanity"** (bottom cartoon) appears to show a landlord's dishonest rental advertisement—promising a "room and bath" but delivering only a bathtub in a hallway as the "room." All three pieces mock institutional or commercial dishonesty and the dehumanizing effects of modern life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“RUT YOU ADVERTISED ‘ROOM AND BATH. HERE'S THE BATH, AND THERE'S “sure! ALL THE ROOM YOU WANT. Efficiency CAPTAIN of industry determined to run his factory on the efficiency basis. So he called in his workmen one by one and said: “I am_ systematizing you down to the wink of an eyelash. Every opera- tion hereafter of arm or leg must spell results. Over the entire staff a watch will be set with the object of eliminating the last atom of Waste.” So the factory got so efficiency-ized that no man could speak to his neighbor for fear of Waste. No longer the merry pun sped from bench to bench. Silent was the song of the happy arti lunch was eaten in seven result-getting gulps and the customary pipe lay cold and cheerless in the caboose of his discarded overalls. In turn the work- men efficiency-ized their families, so that home life became as useful and regular as the genial bucksaw. Then one day, after twenty vears had passed, the second generation of lads held a meeting in the town hall and decided unanimously that: “WHEREAS our local factory has been efficiency-ized down to the last & aAnw “I’M SITTING ON THE STILE, MARY, WHERE WE SAT SIDE BY SIDE.” rat hole, and every workman educated to regard his efforts at their proper value, THEREFORE it is deemed quite consistent and wholly advisable to inform our proprietor that his services will no longer be required.” And the very next night the London Times paid for a cable on Socialism. Robson Black. Privacy “T see the N. Y.. N. H. & H.R. R. makes a rule not to let people who are seeing off their friends on trains go through the gates.” “That's wise. When you are parting from those you may never sce ag ought to be done in private.” outgoing iti ‘\ pick PROFANITY comicbooks.com