Life, 1914-08-06 · page 11 of 40
Life — August 6, 1914 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a satirical illustration by Mary Lane McMillan depicting fashionably dressed figures arriving at what appears to be a formal event or automobile. The cartoon illustrates "Weather Forecast: Considerably Cooler To-night"—likely a double entendre about both temperature and social climate. The left column, "Guide to Congress for All Patriots," humorously defines legislative terms (Session, Calendar, Amendment, Compromise, Speaker, Unanimous Consent, Caucus) in plain language, mocking congressional obscurity and procedure. The right column, "Just a Quiet Joy," describes relief following resolution of some unnamed legal crisis—possibly referencing labor unrest, trust-busting, or anarchist concerns common in early 20th-century America. The piece celebrates that law and order prevailed "quietly" without dramatic upheaval, suggesting the satirist found humor in the anticlimactic resolution.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1 mary LANE MMILLAN WEATHER FORECAST Considerably Cooler To-night Guide to Congress for All Patriots ESSION—A season of hot air, sometimes extending all the year around. Catenpar—A chronological display of all favorites. AmenpMENT—Something placed on the tail-end of a Dill to rob it of all its strength. Compromise—A universal rule for running any govern- ment. Sreaker—The one man who has to listen. Unanimous Consent—Something nobody objects to, be- cause he may want to use it himself at any moment. Caucus—The motive power of all legislature. Just a Quiet Joy EVERY man with a legal mind having been suddenly afflicted by an incurable disease, consternation pre- led. At first the truth was not realized, it being thought that the disease had attacked everyone indiscriminately. When at last it became known that only legal lights would be put out, those who remained stood aghast. The end came quietly, however, There being no more law, anarchy subsided. Also courts, reprisals, politics and monopoly. So that the millennium, as it should have been, was received with more than the usual dignity to be expected upon such a great occasion. comicbooks.com