Life, 1914-04-09 · page 15 of 40
Life — April 9, 1914 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page (647) contains two distinct satirical pieces: **Left side ("The New Record")**: A multi-panel cartoon depicting domestic scenes of poverty and hardship—children in bare rooms, families struggling with meager conditions. The satire appears to comment on living standards or social conditions of the era. **Right side text**: Two editorial critiques: 1. **"Newspaper Responsibility"** attacks the *New York World* for publishing an unverified rumor that former President Roosevelt had billed the Rio Janeiro Historical Society $3,000. While the World later called for responsible correction, Life sarcastically notes the World itself originally spread the false story on its front page—exposing journalistic hypocrisy about accuracy and responsibility. 2. **"Why This Silence?"** criticizes medical authorities for not explaining a smallpox epidemic aboard the battleship *Ohio*, despite sailors being vaccinated. The piece demands doctors provide theoretical justification for vaccination's apparent failure to prevent the outbreak. Both pieces critique institutional failures: press irresponsibility and medical silence during public health crisis.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LIFE: 647 Newspaper Responsibility ' WRITING of the false statement published recently that Mr. Roosevelt sent a bill for three thousand dollars to the Rio Janciro Historical and Geographical Society, the New York World says: “Tt is important that such rumors be corrected, be- cause anything that reflects upon a former President of the United States in his personal relations with South America can serve only to inflame the general Latin- American sentiment of hostility toward this country.” Yet the World was the leading offender in publishing this “rumor” as a news item on its front page. Such a 1 dispatch, to a trained editor, must have borne the ear- marks of falsehood, Why should not the World's sense of responsibility and desire for accuracy have withheld it from helping to publish such a statement broadcast until q its truth had been demonstrated? Why This Silence? HY this ominous silence on the part of the medical authorities concerning that epidemic of smallpox on | the battleship Ohio? Certainly it ought not to take all i this while for the nimble wits of the scrum specialists to | q devise a theory showing exactly why all those sailors, though vaccinated, contracted smallpox, and why everybody else, though vaccinated, will not contract smallpox. To your guns, gentlemen. Vaccination has been a good friend of yours, and it is your duty now to come to its ti defense with an adequate theory; something that will j effectually quell the riotous questionings of the populace. SSS A COURT REPORTER comicbooks.com