Life, 1914-07-23 · page 17 of 40
Life — July 23, 1914 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top cartoon**: A boy on a riverbank compliments a man drifting in a boat, saying he's not drifting backward as fast as before. This appears to be social commentary on economic stagnation or recession—the man's slow backward drift suggests declining fortunes that were previously worse. **"A Real Park Protector"**: This is heavy sarcasm. Life ridicules a New York magistrate who jailed a mother and her four-year-old daughter for playing on grass in St. Mary's Park, the Bronx. The text sarcastically praises this as protecting public parks while mocking the absurdity of criminalizing a child's innocent play. Life argues the punishment was disproportionate and the "offense" trivial, exposing excessive legal authority and inflexible park enforcement. **Bottom illustration**: Labeled "Stock Report," shows businessmen discussing a corporate merger announcement that generated "unfavorable comment and talk of segregation"—likely commentary on business consolidation concerns of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Boy on Bank: Ye'RE DOIN’ FINE, MISTER. YE AIN'T DRIFTIN’ BACKWARDS NEAR AS FAST AS YE WAS A Real Park Protector E can not too highly commend the New York magis- trate who sent a mother and her four-year-old daughter to jail because the latter played on the grass in St. Mary’s Park, ir. The Bronx. Such irreverence fo: public parks and the grass thereot is becoming al) too common, especially in the more crowded parts of our beautiful city, and the police are justified in going to any lengths necessary to stop it. It is, of course, deplorable that a girl so young as four should display such evil tendencies, but probably it is not entirely her own fault. She has tikely been spoiled oy overindulgence, and. being thus unschooled in self-control, was unable to with- stand the temptation of a luxurious carouse on the greensward, absolutely torgetting her duty tc society, her Sunday-school lessons and other indispensable codes of moral propriety. Nevertheless, even though there be extenuating circumstances, our duty is clear. Such vicious- ness should be nipped in the bud. STOCK REPORT Announcement of Plans for a Merger Brought No Little Unfavorable Comment and Some Talk of Segregation comicbooks.com.