Life, 1913-10-02 · page 45 of 48
Life — October 2, 1913 — page 45: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising with one satirical editorial piece**. The main content is a commentary titled "From Missouri" mocking road-building bureaucracy. **The Satire:** The piece ridicules the inefficient American system of public works projects. Missouri's Governor mobilized 250,000 volunteers who built 400 miles of roads in two days, saving $1.5 million—a remarkably efficient result. Life's satirist (signed E.O.J.) sarcastically argues this is *wrong*. Proper road-building requires: lengthy political campaigns, bond issues, competitive bidding, multiple tax levies, bureaucratic delays, and crucially, **graft and profit-skimming at every stage** for financiers, contractors, and "ward heelers" (political operatives). **The Point:** This is sharp criticism of systemic corruption in early 1900s American infrastructure projects. The satire exposes how entrenched interests—politicians, contractors, lawyers—deliberately complicate straightforward public works to extract wealth. Missouri's direct, honest approach threatens this profitable machinery, hence the sarcastic disapproval. The remainder of the page contains ads for McCutcheon's linens, Kodak cameras, and Libbey glassware.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
one which Foun- ” for with louse- Catalogue Free on Request Everyone who is interested in fine Linens should write for our 48-page Illustrated Catalogue, just issued. It contains a great number of the newest designs in le Cloths, Nap- kins, Fancy Table Linens, Bed Lin- ens, etc., and about two hundred Illustrations of Pure Linen Handker- chiefs of all kinds. The purpose of this Catalogue is to give some idea of the great range of flaxen products which you can find at ‘The Linen Store’, which is generally recognizedas ‘‘headquar- ters for Fine Linens’’. For over half a century the Mc- Cutcheon name has been an absolute guarantee of trustworthiness and reliability. Copy will be mailed free upon re- ceipt of name and address. Ask for Catalogue No. 20. James McCutcheon & Co. “The Linen Store’’ Fifth Avenue, 33d & 34th Sts., N. Y. Statement of the ownership, management, of Lure, published weekly at required by the Act of Au- gust 24. 191 itor, J. A. Mitchell, 17 West Thirty-first Street, New York. Business Man- agers. Andrew Miller, James S. Metcalfe. West’ Thirty-first. Street, New York. lisher, Life. Publishing C Thirty-first Street, New Y. A. Mitchell, 17 West Thirty-first Stre York; Andrew Miller, 17 West. Thi Street, New York. " K bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders: George C. Foster, care Guarantee Trust Com: pany, Fifth Avenue Branch, Fifth Avenue and ‘Forty-thitd Street, New York; United States Trust Company of New York, 45 Wall Street, New York. James S. Metcalfe. Sworn to and subscribed before me, this 12th day of September, 1913. (Beal) Wm. Krone, Notary Public. From Missouri Ot in Missouri they have been building roads in a most un- precedented and highly indefensible manner, The Governor called for vol- unteers of whom 250,000 responded, with the result that 400 miles of good roads were built in two days at an es- timated saving to the state of $1,- 500,000. Missouri is certainly trying to “show us,” but if we're wise we'll take no notice of it whatsoever. That's no way to build roads. The way to build roads is to begin with a long and heated campaign headed by well- trained oratorical candidates expatiat- ing patriotically upon every possible con and pro. Following this should be bond issues, advertising for bids, let- ting contracts, levying taxes, assess- ing taxes, gathering taxes, paying out taxes, creating sinking funds and per- haps rebuilding the roads before the original bonds are paid off. In ad- dition to a modicum of graft at every step of the way, there must be legiti- mate profits all along the line to finan- ciers, furnishers of raw material, lawyers, contractors, political bosses, ward heelers, etcetera. The whole nicely trimmed with a plenitude of palaver, parley, platitude, and prattle of patriotic purpose. Missouri's method is altogether too primitive and uncivilized. It would be positively fatal to do things in such a simple and direct way. Evolution would be running on four flat tires in no time. E.0. J. Let KODAK prolong your out-of- doors season—add zest to every au- tumn outing. And before the indoors days set in in earnest get @ copy of our interesting and instructive little book, “AB Home with the Kodak.” It shows many Kodak homo portraits and bow to make them. Free at your dealers, or by mail, EASTMAN KODAK CO.,, Rocnesrer, N. Y., The Kodak City, IN CUT GLASS; in rock crys- tal; and in engraved crystal glass — nothing but will meet your wants. It is recognized as the world’s best, the world over. Look for the plate engraved on every piece. A Libbey dealer tn cach city. The Libbey Glass Co., Toledo, Ohio “name- Maxims of Civilized Warfare SOFT-NOSED bullet turneth away wrath. Let me collect the debts of a nation, and I care not who makes its treaties. Millions for defense, but—well, anyway, millions for defense. Every war-cloud has a silver lining for the gunmaker. One murder docs not make a battle. Peace is silver, but armed peace is golden. He arms deadliest who arms last. Josephine M. Burnham. comicbooks.com