Life, 1914-05-28 · page 15 of 44
Life — May 28, 1914 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct satirical pieces: **"Accident Insurance"** mocks insurance companies' deceptive practices. A policyholder denied coverage for an accident points out the absurdity: the fine print disclaimer "Read This Policy" is unreadable, yet the insurer claims he should have understood exclusions. The satire targets corporate dishonesty hidden behind deliberately obscure legal language. **"All Of Us From Asia"** critiques American prejudice against Mexicans and Native Americans. The piece argues that all Western Hemisphere inhabitants—including European Americans—descended from Asian migrants, so Americans have no basis for racial superiority. It suggests we benefited merely from arriving earlier and having extra centuries of European development. **"National Dignity"** employs bitter irony comparing American outrage over Mexican instability with American indifference to labor violence in Colorado (likely referencing mining conflicts). The hypocrisy: we defend "national dignity" abroad while ignoring it at home. **"Her Declining Years"** and the confectionery shop cartoon appear to be separate humorous vignettes about aging and workplace attractions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Youthful Admirer: cee! 1 wish 1 WAS STouT! I'D WORK WHERE SHE IS FOR NOTHIN’ Accident Insurance HE VICTIM: So I'm not covered against this par- ticular accident that I'm laid up with? AccipeNT Insurance AceNt: Of course not. You see, that was an exceptional accident. Didn’t you see the paster on the outside of the policy which states: “Read This Policy"? Tue Victim: Certainly I read it; but I didn’t suppose you expected anybody to understand it. PARADOXICAL HER DECLINING YEARS All Of Us From Asia TH most important difference between the Mexicans and us seems to be that they came to America by the back way and we came by the front door, and had the advantage of wandering and fighting for several thousand years in Europe. Apparently all the aborigines on this continent came originally from Asia, just as we did. We ought not to sniff at the Aztecs and the Mexi- cans and the Indians, because they did not have our luck in getting those thousands of years of European travel. National Dignity "TIS passing strange how excited we can become over the national dignity when it seems to be violated by a rebellious underling in a far- off place like Mexico, and how serene we can remain when the national dig- nity is drawn, quartered, smeared, crushed and totally effaced as in Colorado. R. HOUSEFLY: Well, dear, I begin to realize that our time on earth is short. Mrs. Houserty: Yes, but we have little to regret. We have been sober and industrious, and have raised a family of ten billion children. comicbooks.com