Life, 1914-05-07 · page 31 of 52
Life — May 7, 1914 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces: **"The Triumph of the Office Cub"** (cartoon): Shows a young office worker facing his boss's decision whether to fire him or demean him with menial labor—mocking the casual cruelty employers wielded over junior staff. **"Morturi Salutamus!"**: Ridicules the London *Nation* magazine's assertion that Alfred Tennyson was merely a "minor poet" and that his work is as "dead" as Longfellow's. The author expresses outrage at this dismissal of the revered Victorian poet. **"The Age of Uplift"**: A brief joke where a character praises a play because she "expected the police to raid it every minute"—satirizing self-righteous moralism and censorship advocates. **"Waking Up"**: Commentary on British suffragettes, particularly one who damaged a Velasquez painting. The author sarcastically notes the six-month jail sentence while questioning whether property destruction serves the suffrage "struggle for Liberty," implying the tactics undermine their cause. The page reflects early 20th-century American attitudes toward literature, workplace hierarchy, censorship, and women's activism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Tew ae THE TRIUMPH OF THE OFFICE CUB HIS BOSS 1S TRYING TO DECIDE WHETHER TO MAKE HIM SCRUB THE OFFICE FLOORS IN THE MORNING OR TO FIRE HIM OUTRIGHT Morturi Salutamus ! ND now we have the London Nation coming forward with the assertion that Alfred Tennyson is “one of the most splendid of minor poets”. Then the Nation goes on to say: “We are convinced that the great bulk of his work is already as dead as the great bulk of Longfellow’s work.” What ought to be done to a writer who wilfully makes a statement like that? Tennyson a minor poet, and Longfellow dead! Well! Well! The Age of Uplift \DGE: Was it a good play? Marjorie: Splendid! We expected the police to raid it every minute. Waking Up THE English government is evidently getting its blood up. It must be plain to all that it now means business. A suffragette recently ruined a picture of Velasquez, valued at about six hundred thousand dollars, and the lady was promptly caught and will be given six months in jail. This is equivalent to a thirty-days sentence for every one hun- dred thousand dollars destroyed. The picture, which was one of the priceless possessions of the world, can never be replaced, any more than the treasures of Athenian art torn down by the Turks when they entered Athens can be replaced. But these are both naturally details in the grand struggle for Liberty. The great point is that the lady got six months—a severe sentence you say for the British government to inflict! Yes, but the lady will doubtless xet something off for bad behavior. That, at least, is some- thing. comichooks.