Life, 1914-08-27 · page 42 of 44
Life — August 27, 1914 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains **three distinct satirical pieces** reflecting early 20th-century American concerns: 1. **"A Note of Peace"** (poem): Anti-war sentiment, contrasting the horror of military conflict with peaceful domestic abundance (Kansas wheat, Vermont apples). Written during an era of global conflict, likely WWI, it questions war's relevance to ordinary Americans' concerns. 2. **The Stimson-Willie cartoon**: A dark joke about American school-teachers "detained indefinitely in Europe"—likely referring to Americans trapped abroad during wartime instability. Willie's cheerfulness about this misfortune is the satirical point. 3. **"The Railroad Question"** editorial: Commentary on railroad regulation debates. The piece satirizes the impossible position of balancing railroad profit demands against shipper interests, concluding cynically that self-interest trumps moral or economic theory—relevant to Progressive Era regulatory debates. The rest is **advertising**: Herbert Tareyton cigarettes and Vanity Fair magazine promotion emphasizing cultural sophistication and financial savings.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“DFE: Bw Ps g \d < Herbert Tareyton London Cigarettes Herbert London Smoki: I Betind BO Sena ten tonne eee fest: S| d Street NewYork. A Note of Peace HO wants to talk of rolling drums And guns and bombs and swords, And silver bugles draped and tied With dangling crimson cords, And fields and trenches with the slain In red confusion heaped, When miles and miles of Kansas wheat Is waiting to be reaped? Who thinks of clanking cavalry, And caissons rumbling by, And banners torn with shot and shell Against the peaceful sky, And foemen hiding on the roofs, Pedestrians to snipe, When apples up in old Vermont Are getting red and ripe? Minna Irving. TIMSON (to Willie, reading the paper): What are you looking so cheerful about, Willie? Witue: I see a lot of American school-teachers are detained indefi- nitely in Europe. Pup: 1 MUST BE GETTING RHEUMATIC; EVERY TIME I WAG MY TAIL SOMETHING GROANS The Railroad Question HE railroad question would be simple were there not so many shippers. Without these we should know exactly what to do when a polite and contrite railroad came along with a “ Mister, won't you please give me an increase in freight rates; I'm so hungry I don’t know how I'm gong to pay my next dividend”. We should say: “Certainly, you can have anything you want.” But, as it is, the shippers speak up promptly and say: “Here; the only way these railroads can get more money is to take it off'n us, and we are feeling none too prosperous ourselves.” So there we are, impaled on a dilemma involving the utmost profundities of indus- trial morality, economic equity and other words to the same effect. We try to escape by evolving some exalted theory, but find, after all, that the only way out is to consult our own self-interest. Think of your Four most interesting Magazines: —your favorite Stage magazine —your favorite Fashion magazine —your favorite Sports magazine —your favorite Humorous magazine Then compare all four with Vanity Fair Vanity Fair is-a review of everything newand good on the Stage, and in Music and Opera; it is illustrated with fiom forty to sixty exclus- ive pictures of stage favor- ites every month. As a Fashion magazine, Vanity Fair brings you the best new modes as fast as they come from the work- rooms of the smart world’s most original dressmakers, Vanity Fair is an illustra- ted newspaper of Sports, including the players of every fashionable game. Its reviews of sports are by the greatest American and British authorities. Above all else, Vanity Fair isa cheerful magazine, pre- senting certain fads and | foibles of American life cheerfully, fearlessly and, above all else, amusingly. VANITY FAIR can save you money in many ways. It will pay you well to have Vanity Fair always at hand. Vanity Fair will save you the $5 or $10 that you waste on seats at a poor play. ft will save you the dollar or two spent on a dull novel, the many dollars spent on hats and gowns that you would otherwise buy and never wear. And Vanity Fair will saves Jou far more than merely money—it will save you the embarassment that you may feel when talking with people who are much better informed than you on subjects like Art, Music, Books and Grand Opera. Will 1_to_be all this for six months? You can buy Vanity Fair from any better-class news- dealer — but, if you have any difficulty getting Vanity Fair, this coupon will insure its punctual delivery. You will receive at once the attractive Autumn Number, now ready, and after it the five t_Winter_numbers that follow. Sign and mail the coupon immediately. 99 gs a a os. gy eomicbooks feom