Life, 1913-12-11 · page 17 of 40
Life — December 11, 1913 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces reflecting early 20th-century attitudes: **"My Poet"** (top left): A sentimental poem by E.D.W. praising a mockingbird's ability to mimic all birds' songs while calling on it to "sing thine own song." The irony appears to celebrate imitation as virtue—typical of the era's sentimentality. **Baseball cartoon** (top right): Shows children discussing why "Millie" won't signal "Gertie Jones to take the ball"—they're "not on speaking terms." This satirizes petty female quarrels. **"The Eternal Feminine"** (bottom): A large cartoon and accompanying text mocking women's suffrage. It references **Emmeline Pankhurst's** recent entry to America and her publication *The Suffragette*, condemning it as vulgar and indecent. The piece argues that without women's "civilizing influence," men degenerate—yet claims suffragettes themselves demonstrate vulgarity, suggesting women shouldn't have power. This represents anti-suffrage propaganda common before women's voting rights were secured (1920).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ERP eB My Poet UST outside my window a mocking bird has nested. J Built his house mid green and gold of maple leaves a-shine Ne’er a gallant plume has he, sober winged and breasted, But all the songs of all the birds slip from his heart to mine. Now he is the meadow lark—hear him tell Love's story, Too soon he is the kildee, the robin and the jay. Hark, hark, he chants a cardinal, that darting flame of glory! And now he is the mourning-dove, that breaks the heart of Day. ©, Poet-bird, that voicest all the joy and grief of others, Some day for just a little while forgetful of them be, And purer, higher, sweeter for the brother-love that smothers, Tell out the greatness of thy heart, sing thine own song to me! E.D.W LINOR GLYN has written a respectable novel. Who says the world is not growing any better? Captain: SEE HERE, MILLIE, WHY DON'T YOU EVFR S| GERTIE JONES TO TAKE THE BALL? NOT ON SPEAKING TERMS. Descent THE ETERNAL FEMININE 'OR many generations it has been proven without question that men, without the influence of women, would \, tend to become vulgar—would tend to degenerate into animals, The picture of a group of men left to themselves gradually descending into brutish hab- its, such as playing cards in their shirt sleeves, etc., is familiar to all of us. Can it be possible that even this tradi- tion is to be ruthlessly destroyed? Recently Mrs. Pankhurst was per- mitted to enter this country. With her *she brought a paper called The Suf- fragette, which, according to the com- mon reports, for cheap vulgarity, for blatant indecency, for that kind of prurient writing which appeals frankly to the lowest understandings would take the blue ribbon—and this was done hy ladies. A mere man would have had gf great difficulty in “ putting over” such A a frankly meretricious scheme. Any mere man who attempted such a thing 1d probably have been locked up The ladies do it, however, apparently without question. Dear! Dear!