Life, 1913-08-28 · page 19 of 40
Life — August 28, 1913 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical page contains two main sections: **"Love is Blind" cartoon**: Shows a man (standing) and woman (seated) in an intimate moment, captioned with a humorous "literary societies" list that parodies famous authors of the era—Edith Wharton, Henry James, Robert Chambers, Arnold Bennett, Theodore Roosevelt, and Mrs. Humphry Ward. Each fictional society mocks these writers' known characteristics: Wharton's tragic heroines, James's famously long opening sentences, Bennett's self-promotion, Roosevelt's excessive use of "I," and Ward's reputation. **"Suited Him" joke**: A brief exchange about income tax, likely referencing recent U.S. income tax legislation, with the humor being that one character welcomes government scrutiny to finally understand his own finances. **"Revolutionary" section**: Political satire suggesting the U.S. should apply its paternalistic "protectorate" approach (referenced regarding Nicaragua interventionism) to domestic problems: the pension system, Tammany Hall (corrupt NYC political machine), sensationalist newspapers, and Congress itself. The page satirizes both literary figures and progressive-era American politics and imperialism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LOVE IS BLIND New Appointments in Literary Societies RS. WHARTON. for Prevention of Happiness to Heroines. President of the Society Henry James. President of the Society for Limiting Your First Sentence Only by the Length of your novel. Robert Chambers. petual Motion. Arnold Bennett. President of the Arnold Bennett Society. Membership limited to the presidency. Theodore Roosevelt. President of the Society for the Suppression of the Personal Pronoun “1.” Mrs. Humphry Ward. President of the Society of Humorous Writers. President of the Society of Per- Suited Him ARKE: I suppose you feel pretty badly over this in- come tax? Lane: Not at all. I've wanted to know for years what my income is; with the government back of me, I may find out. Revolutionary TH idea of having a protectorate over Nicaragua is a good one. Nicaragua has not been doing things in an internally businesslike manner. But so long as we are establishing protectorates, why not begin at home? Why not have a protectorate over our pension system, over Tammany Hall, over our yellow journals, and over the Congressional Record?