Life, 1914-02-05 · page 18 of 44
Life — February 5, 1914 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon ("Guilty"):** This depicts a chaotic schoolroom during a "Washington's Birthday Program." The satire targets early 20th-century immigration anxieties: the program lists children with obviously immigrant surnames (Cohen, Naglovitch, O'Grady, Ling, Boudreaux, MacGregor) performing patriotic exercises. The cartoon mocks concerns that immigrant children couldn't be properly "Americanized"—the disorder suggests these children are unfit to represent American values, playing on nativist fears prevalent in the 1910s-1920s. **"Do We Want It?" Section:** This opposes "state medicine"—a precursor to public healthcare debates. The League for Medical Freedom argues that government-mandated medical practitioners threaten individual liberty, comparing it to "state religion." This reflects anti-government sentiment and opposition to what would later become commonplace medical licensing. **Bottom Cartoon ("Judges of Men"):** Two women evaluate a man's character, noting he's "cute socially" and "wonderful morally" despite unknown substantive qualities—satirizing superficial social judgment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“cuitty” Washington's Birthday Program the throats of the American people in accordance with all (Any Public School.) their latest theories. Song .. oes School Recitation, “ Georgie and His Hatchet” . Moe Strunsky Duet, “ Columbia, the Gem of the Ocean”, Gretchen Schmidt and Hulda Olsen Address, “ The Father of Our Country” ......Abie Cohen Solo, “Star Spangled Banner” Olga Naglovitch Recitation, “ My Country” .. foses Strabinsky Patriotic Drill, eight little girls—Lena Kalbhiemer, Rebecca Loeb, Bridget O'Grady, Nalgi Karo, Mary Sam Ling, Guila Borgia, Ninon Boudreaux, and Jean MacGregor. Remar Cog Alderman Max Levi Song, “ My Country, ’Tis 4 seeeeeees+.School Do We Want It? FIGHT in a good cause is being waged by the League for Medical Freedom. It champions the right of the American citizen to secure the practitioner of his choice in the hour of sickness, as untrammeled as he secks his spiritual advisor when he feels the need of spir- itual aid. The League has aroused the people to some realization of the fact that there is a deliberate effort being made to fasten on this country a state medicine, which would be as un-American and odius as a state religion, It would entrench a class of political M. D.’s in a position of JUDGES OF MEN supreme power over the bodies of American citizens to “WHAT OF A MAN IS HE?” force their serums and their drugs into the bodies or down “WELL, HE’S CUTE SOCIALLY, AND wonderful MORALLY.” comicbooks.com