Life, 1914-05-07 · page 25 of 52
Life — May 7, 1914 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon depicts a donkey (representing the American public or electorate) being led by a figure on horseback—likely representing a political leader or media manipulator. The "reasoning animal" title is ironic: it questions whether the public actually thinks for itself or merely follows where it's directed. The accompanying text discusses two major crises: the Mexican situation (involving William Randolph Hearst's newspaper influence and intervention proposals) and the Colorado coal miners' strike against Rockefeller's company. The author criticizes Hearst's sensationalism while noting the public has grown more resistant to manipulation. The Colorado violence—involving immigrant workers and state militia—represents a civil-war-like conflict the author finds shocking for an advanced, women's-suffrage state. The cartoon suggests citizens should think independently rather than be passively led by propaganda or inflammatory headlines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A REASONING ANIMAL Cruz was “successful,” but at this writing it is still matter of active dis- cussion how well the patient is doing, and whether serious complications can be avoided. O course we have a great plague of headlines, but that belongs to the proceedings. Still, it is not as it was in the opening of the Spanish war. The headlines may mislead a little in matters of hour-by-hour news, but one does not feel that they inflame. The country, naturally, is immensely inter- ested, but it keeps its head. William Hearst, who has mines in Mexico, is for a clean sweep and a thorough job, and his papers work for popular agita- tion, very much as Huerta’s papers arc reported to have worked in the City of Mexico. But the Hearst battery no longer seems to have much punch. People want the news, and the propor- tion of the people hereabouts who want to be fooled all the time seems smaller than it used to be. In spite of all improvements and the great spread of machinery, ships of state still move by sails, and you can't tell just what course they'll take, nor where they'll bring up, till you know which way the wind blows and how much there is of it. As we write, nobody’s guess is worth much as to the outcome in Mexico. The good offices of the South American brethren may do good. It was certainly advisa- ble to admit these neighbors to consul- tation in the case. They are acutely interested. Their offer of mediation Promises to avert an immediate crisis, and may lead to a satisfactory restora- tion of constitutional government in Mexico with responsible assurances of necessary reforms. If it fails, in whatever we may have to do, their moral support, if we should get it, would be very valuable. HE recent extraordinary and vio- lent proceedings between miners and militiamen in Colorado have been crowded out of public attention by our other troubles. It has seemed almost incredible that such monstrous occur- rences could happen in a State which has had woman suffrage long enough for voters born under it to come to voting age. There has been a close likeness to civil war in Colorado. A thousand armed miners and the State militia have been fighting. Sixty lives are reported lost. Property has been burned up to the value of several mil- 829 lions. Federal intervention has been asked by the Governor, and though the Federal government is very busy just now intervening elsewhere, it must probably, be provided. The war is between the Colorado Coal and Iron Co. controlled by John D. Rocke- feller, Jr., and the United Mine Work- ers, The question originally involved seems to have been the right of the company to employ non-union miners. It is a big, bad, serious trouble, which will require thorough handling before it is cured. It has been going on now for eight months. Here in the East the merits of the case have not come fully to public knowledge. We are told that the warring miners are chiefly Italians and Greeks, the latter fresh from Bulgarian battlefields, used to shoot, and amply provided with arms and explosives. To avert fight- ing between these miners and the mine-guards, Governor Ammons called out his militia and kept it in the field for several months. Matters quieted down, the militia were withdrawn, fighting began again promptly be- tween miners and mine-guards, and the situation got out of hand. The Governor says the State forces are not able to handle it. A mass- meeting at Denver on April 26th called for Governor Ammons’ im- peachment. The miners say the mine- guards are butchers and that the mi- litiamen are mine-guards in uniform. Mr. Rockefeller has been asked to yield to the strikers and has declined, and since he is a prudent man and well advised, he probably has strong reasons for refusing. Following the restoration of law and order, for which outside help will apparently be needed, there will have to be a sifting of all the troubles and settlement with the injured and with the guilty, ac- cording to law. Sympathetic 'OLLOWING our naval operations at Vera Cruz, Etna and Vesu- vius simultaneously hecame active and erupted with energy and violent trem- Dlings of the earth. We appreciate this evidence of fel- low-feeling from the mother country of so many of our citizens, comicbooks.com