Life, 1913-10-23 · page 13 of 40
Life — October 23, 1913 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a satirical sketch titled "As We See Ourselves" depicting a station platform scene. The caption explains that Jones meets Robinson—whom he's never seen but who resembles him—at a train station, leading to the joke "Ah! Mr. Robinson, I presume." The cartoon mocks the human tendency toward self-recognition and vanity: meeting a stranger who supposedly looks like you. The sketch style is typical of Life's early editorial cartoons. Below this is a section titled "Regular Meeting" describing a meeting of railroad directors and a Fiscal Agent returning from Europe. It discusses hiring decisions, accident reports, and voting on Amendment No. 5, with a brief dialogue between Henry and his wife about changing his voting position. The page satirizes corporate bureaucracy and marital influence on political decisions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
JONES HAS BEEN AS WE SEE OURSELVES NT TO THE STATION TO MEET ROBINSON, WHOM HE BEEN DESCRIBED TO HIM AS LOOKING REMARKABLY LIKE HIMSELF. Jones: Regular Meeting HE directors of the Skull, Bones, Mausoleum and Burnt Bodies Railroad met yesterday afternoon. Everybody was present, including the Fiscal Agent, who had just returned from Europe with a new set of bond issues which he thought the road might use very soon, as the prospect of putting through a new banking bill ‘was not so bright as it was, now that he had returned to save his country in the nick of time. The bond issue was accepted with thanks and the Fiscal Agent given his share of the Profits, which he explained (although nobody wanted to know) was only eight millions, on account of the ex- AH! MR. ROBINSON, I PRESUME. tremely bad weather we have been having. It was voted to hire two more presi- dents of the road at a salary of one hundred thousand dollars each. Also one president was retired at thirty thousand dollars in order that he might have more time to read the interesting articles constantly appearing in the papers about himself. A report on the last accident, show- ing a few deaths, was presented; also statements that- wooden cars might be superseded by papier maché; also that the old banjo signals, although in use for the past one hundred and fifty years, were still in good condition, but it might be well to give them a new HAS NEVER SEEN BUT WHO HAS coat of paint if the Fiscal Agent ap- proved. It having appeared, however, that the Fiscal Agent had gone home a few seconds after receiving his money, and the hour being late, the meeting ad- journed, the directors all reporting a good time and a twenty-dollar gold piece. “LIJENRY,” called Mrs. R. over the partition in the voting booth, “how are you going to vote on Amendment No. 5?” He: I atm going to vote “yes”. Sue: No, you're not; you're going to vote “no I have changed my mind. comicbooks.com