Life — September 4, 1913 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Explanation for Modern Readers This *Life* magazine page satirizes labor exploitation and child labor. The article "That Terrible Undercurrent" discusses Georgia's decision not to immediately help child laborers. It references a proposed bill to gradually raise the working age limit, opposed by manufacturers. The cartoon "Oliver Twist Asks for More" depicts a starving child (evoking Dickens's famous orphan) requesting additional food from an overseer labeled "SOUP." This visual pun mocks the inadequacy of relief efforts for exploited children. The text hints at Colonel Mulhall's involvement in blocking child labor protections through legislative influence, though the specific details remain vague—typical of period satire exposing corporate lobbying against worker protections.