Life, 1914-01-29 · page 33 of 40
Life — January 29, 1914 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical story-cartoon mocks the epidemic of **hat pins** in early 20th-century public transportation. Women wore large, ornate hats secured with long, sharp pins that frequently stabbed other passengers on crowded streetcars and buses—a genuine social nuisance of the era. The joke: A young man is charged with deliberately stabbing a woman with a needle, but argues he's not responsible because he was merely retaliating against months of being jabbed by strangers' hat pins on public transit. The sympathetic judge weeps and sends him to a sanitarium instead of jail, suggesting the real culprits are the women wearing dangerous fashion accessories. The satire criticizes both the absurdity of women's fashion (enormous hats with protruding pins) and the legal system's inconsistent application of justice—the defendant escapes punishment by revealing a systemic problem nobody addresses. It's commentary on how trivial male inconvenience receives sympathy while women's fashion choices, however hazardous to others, go unchecked.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Not Guilty HE upright judge leaned forward and bestowed a look of supreme disgust upon the prisoner, a not un- handsome looking young man “The charge against you is that you have punctured the fair skin ot this plaintiff with a needle. What have you to say for yourself ? The prisoner, his face proud and haughty, drew himself up. “Jt is true, your honor,” he replied, “but Tam not responsible How so?" “The facts are these. Not being able to afford an automobile, I am obliged, | PANIC—disaster—dis- like a great many other American citi- zens, to travel in public conveyances. figurement and all the For many months now I have been continuously jabbed in the face, back, tragedies of fire which sud- shoulders and arms by innumerable hat | pins worn by total strangers. After | denly attack your home are enduring this thing for a long time the : # thought of revenge became settled in so easily averted by this my mind, I lost my control, and one convenientandscientific fire day determined to take the defensive.” Here the prisoner broke down. | fighter and fire preventer. “Your honor,” he sobbed, “it was wrong of me, but under this fearful ordeal my reason tottered.” The judge wiped away a tear. “It is a sad ca he muttered, as he noticed there was not a dry eye in the court room, “Send him to a sani- tarium, and let us hope that we may not share his fate.” Chocolates “Sans tome The Reputation of Maillard Brass and Nickel-plated Pyrene Fire Ex. — Eee TUN Nnguiers ate the only one. quart fire ex nee ae whee oe | CE pe wth 1 tinguishers included in the lists of approved Maillard has enjoyed an en- f 2 | ATH { Eire (\ppmences lewd by the National viable reputation; and the | ANNE Boubous — secret lies simply in the aim — and policy consistently followed Chocolates. — maintaining absolute purity, - i lot ted Jack ooori French tinctive excellence in every Maik 4 os concen, ‘astrivs lard product. The name of Mai — lard carries its own significance tee Creams jn all that pertains to confections. ‘cad ah Ex-Presidents Should Be Appreciated ddlevery ta all’ parts of the word. Or ex-Presidents are so good to us. Stopping their salaries makes no apparent “yy difference to them; they keep right on taking an interest in our welfare. And we should listen attentively to everything they have to say, whether garrulous, satirical or bombinaccous. No matter how sternly and unanimously we may have invited a gentleman to sit somewhere else than in the president . and no matter FIFTH AVE. AT 35TH ST., NEW YORK 4 how valueless his advice may be. and no matter how many promises he broke while in office, we should still assume that his intentions are good, and receive his homilies defer- WANTED—AN IDEA! Sho cen think of entially, even though we toss them into the wastebasket as soon as his back is turned. a to patent! Protect your ideas, they An ex-President is an ex-President for a’ that and a’ that and a’ that wav bring you wealth. Write for Needed Inventions? and Now to Get Your Patent and Your Money." IK CO., Patent Attorecys, Dept, 188, Wasblogton, D.C. comicbooks.com