Life, 1914-05-21 · page 7 of 52
Life — May 21, 1914 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising and corporate propaganda**, not satire. The main content is a full-page advertisement from American Telephone and Telegraph Company claiming America's telephone service is superior to Europe's—with twelve times more phones per capita than European countries. The supporting text includes international quotes (from London, Paris, Germany, and elsewhere) acknowledging Europe's inferior telephone infrastructure. A bar chart compares costs across nations, showing the U.S. offers cheaper service. The page also contains unrelated period advertisements (canoe resort, perfume, horse nails). **The "point"**: This is straightforward corporate messaging presenting American capitalism and technology as demonstrably superior to European systems, likely published during or shortly after World War I when such comparisons had nationalist resonance.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘id nis sting mer- | ~ L IeE*E 907 Makes any Stream a Summer Resort ful, hot weather comfort just paddle your ‘shady nooks tha line ‘rail more pleasurable with ai re with a ‘Town Canoe.”* it won't teak or absoro waler—made ot tough cedar specially treated and canvased. It ls , ‘strong and safe~swift and grace- Fale Siae instock agents ev where. Write for catalog. iri The Burden of Civilization HERE is no mistaking the thrill of relief that possesses us all at the probability of war. Human beings, under the constant exhortation of mis- guided uplifters, have tried to dress up and be polite, to look and be civil- ized. We have developed a resounding vocabulary and an inspiring vernacular upon the subject, and have talked about civilization as a great ideal. We have tried to make out, especially on Sundays, that it is a state to which we are constitutionally suited. But it ien't. The burden of civilization bears Leavily upon us all. Civilization re- quires rules, ameni . restricted be- havior, conformity with some sort of ethical code. In posing as civilized we must make ourselves considerate of other people, unselfish and high- minded. With a declaration of war, how- ever, all rules are forgotten. All's fair in war, declares the veracious proverb. We feel like a child when school’s out. We don’t have to think any more. We are in an entirely new atmosphere. We can excuse the most outlandish and outlawish conduct on the perfectly irrational ground that a state of war exists. With all the abandon of an urchin of ten at the old swimmin’ hole, our fine clothes are doffed and we dive back into barbarism, making Darwin's search for the missing link more hope- ful than ever. When war enters the door, civilization flies out of the window. E..0. J. EVETTE —nousicant America’s Telephones Lead the World Service Best—Cost Lowest . fram “Flectrical Dndustries* Ser, wl? inflict. = From ‘‘Le Petit Phare de Nantes,’* Paris “ But today I found I had to talk with Saint-Malo, and, wishing to be put through quickly, 1 had my name inscribed on the waiting list first thing in the morning; the operator told me—though very amiably, I must confess—that | would have to wait thirteen hours and ten minutes (you are reading it right) in order to be put through.” Herr Haberland, Deputy, in the Reichstag “The average time required to get aconnectionwith Berlin is now | $4 hours. Our business life and trade suffer considerably on account of this lack of tele- phone facilities, which exists not only between Dus- seldorf and Berlin and between Berlin and the West, but also between other towns, such as Strassburg, Antwerp, etc.” Herr Wendel, in The German Diet. “I refer here to Freiberg. There the entire tele- phone service is interrupted at 9 o'clock p.m. Five minutes after 9 o'clock it is impossible to obtain a telephone connection.” Dr. R. Luther, in the Dresdner Anzeiger “In the year 1913, 36 years after the discovery of the electro-magnetic telephone, in the age of the beginning of wireless telegraphy, one of the largest cities of Germany, Dresden, with half a million in- habitants, is without adequate telephone facilities.” Real Average Cost of Telephone Service per year to a subscriber in the United States and European countries (based on official reports). Unrreo stares SWITZERLAND NETHERLANDS. NORWAY SwEotn RUSSIA OtNMARK GREAT BRITAIN GORMAN CHPIRE France ray HUNGARY AUSTRIA BULGARIA BriciuM SPAIN PORTUGAL Note: In translating European cf mosey Gini Seatee Aton wages. tio *20 $30 S40 *s0 *60 *70 *80 *90 *100 *io S120 *130 So *0 *60 S70 These are the reasons why there are twelve times as many tele- phones for each hundred persons in the United States as in Europe. AND ASSOCIATED COMPANIES One System Universal Service fa This newest Houbigant creation is frankly modern—free, but beautiful; an unendin; MO delight to the senses. Tropical in appeal | F) but as pure and innocent asa debutante's Douquet. At leading perfumers. Send for Small Sample Bertle, 25 PARK & TILFORD, Agents, NEW YORK | When shoes are lost who pays? Horse owners of course. Remember, then, it saves trouble and expense to use. 99 Horse Nails “Capewell Best nail in the world at a fair price—not the cheap- est regardless of quality. All shoers can afford them. | fl POLITICAL ARITHMETIC