Life, 1914-05-28 · page 42 of 44
Life — May 28, 1914 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines social satire with advertising typical of early 20th-century Life magazine. **The Main Satire ("Cheaper Than Safety Devices"):** Life criticizes mine owners in West Virginia following a recent mining explosion that killed approximately 200 workers. The editorial argues that owners deliberately choose NOT to invest in safety equipment because it's financially cheaper to occasionally lose workers than to implement safeguards. Life sarcastically notes that newspapers treated the disaster as an "act of God" rather than preventable negligence, and that West Virginia courts are "notably kind to mine owners." The piece references the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire, where settlements were made at only $75 per life, suggesting workers' lives are valued at rock-bottom rates by industrial owners. **The Baldwin Drinking Cup Advertisement:** The top ad promotes a individual drinking cup invention, noting that "common drinking cups" are now legally prohibited in most states—an early public health measure. **Advertisements:** The page also includes typical period ads for cakes, soap, and household items, alongside Vogue's "Summer Fashions Number" promotion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
5 = WATER HITS HERE ‘Common Drinking Cups are prohibited by law in most States. Many || STE EM UTM TTC ofthe largest corporations, business houses and factories ia the ‘CUP U.S. are showing consideration for their employees by supplying them with Baldwin " Fioback Drinking Cups, to hire gunmen to -shoot at them if they want to form a union? Good business requires that the ’ cheapest thing ‘must. he done, and that settle- ment must not be allowed to interfere with the annual statement. It appears, therefore, that the relatives ‘and friends must bear the entire burden of this bereavement, and, of course, we shall look to them to bear it with Christian-like humility and fortitude. UNITED STATES ENVELOPE CO. Cop Dept. G.-WORCESTER, MASS. ‘or STONE & FORSTTU CO, DISTRIDUTERS, ROSTOS, MASS. BALDWIN FINBACK DRINKING CUP Cheaper Than Safety Devices | WITT HERE is no evidence of any great \ 4 perturbation on the part of the ) owners of those mines in West Vir- \> ginia which exploded the other day _ and killed some two hundred men, TT) mostly Americans, The newspapers Y have treated the affair as if it were an unpreventable act of God and as if mine explosions could not be easily averted by the expenditure of a little money for the necessary safeguards. Thus the newspapers saved the own- ers from unenviable publicity. The courts and officials of West Virginia have been notably kind to mine owners, so there is probably little to fear from that quarter. Here in New York the other day settlements were made at seventy-five dollars per life on account of the Triangle shirt- waist fire. We don't suppose a miner is worth any more than a shirtwaist worker. But whatever the value of a miner's life may be in West Virginia, these proprietors have, of course, been shrewd enough to figure it out long since that it is cheaper to explode their employees occasionally than to pro- vide safety devices, just as it is cheaper that the fashionable wor!d will A final review of everything ) the North Shore, Deauville, and soon be wearing at Newport, Ostend. The midsummer mode in all its details is completely presented in this Vogue, now Vready. Read it carefully before adding the finishing touches to your hot weather wardrobe. Write for Sample Cake! Smell its real violet fragrance. The moment you do you will want this crystal clear soap —the * Freabeni Up soap of the dainty wom- an. Lathers freely in any, water. Send 2¢ for your }] sample cake. Do it today! Address Save Work—Gain Health ‘You can't afford to be without this big help TELNET da cove tiece's ay tatety ond | | Tit home mend, | The Folding Tray-Wagon Sets of clears the table in one trip. Gives In- valuable service in parlor, kitchen, sewing Foom. All steel: sanitary; handsome: rubber res.” Natistartion guarsateed. W Here you will find the filmy, diaphanous gowns of midsummer ; the correct hats, corsets, waists, skirts, shoes, and accessories for every occasion from now until you come back to town. And Vogue does not stop with merely being something to read—it is also something to use.’ While you are away from town Vogue will shop for you; will execute any com- mission carefully, promptly and without charge. For a complete explanation of this service, read the Summer Fashions Number now on sale. Wherever you go this summer, see that Vogue goes with you. If you go where society is, you will certainly need your Vogue. If, on the other hand, you are planning to stay in some quiet spot, Vogue is the one connecting link with your world that you will most want to maintain. VOGUE 443 FOURTH AVENUE, NEW YORK Condé Nast, Publisher 25 cents a Number Twice « Month $4.00 a Year ‘Twenty-four Numbers Ccomicboo ks.com