Life, 1914-09-03 · page 7 of 48
Life — September 3, 1914 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This article satirizes wealthy industrialists' control of American commerce. The author argues that if steel, oil, and railroad magnates can monopolize their industries, why not create a "seashore monopoly"—allowing wealthy businessmen to collectively control beach access and charge the public for ocean views. The accompanying cartoon depicts working-class men attempting to enjoy a day at the beach (golf, family time) while being solicited by a man hawking golf balls—illustrating how commercialization invades even leisure spaces. The dialogue between Wall Street brokers suggests frustration that profit opportunities exist everywhere *except* their own markets. The satire critiques both unchecked monopolistic practices and the absurd notion that everything—even nature—should be commodified for wealthy interests.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Needed Monopoly GUCCESSEUL attempts of enterprising grab- bers to fence off the seashore and tax the public a sum of money for a glimpse of the broad ocean or a dip in the briny water arouse the hope that we may yet have a glorious sea- shore monopoly, with the regulation career of being bonded and stocked and listed on the exchange and manipulated and juggled and looted and regulated and worried about. If a coterie of steel millionaires or of oil millionaires or of railroad mil- lionaires or of landlord millionaires, why not also a group of seashore millionaires to get together from time to time to quote rates on the various activities connected with the seashore? Why should we not be seeing such items as this reported in the financial columns of our newspapers: “ Owing to the fact that a sea-serpent was sighted off Atlantic City yesterday, all rates along the entire Jersey coast will be doubled until the first of December.” And so on ad infinitum in all the well- known permutations, combinations and machinations. Won't some competent promoter and fiscalizer please busy himself instanter to the end that this conspicuous gap in the monopolization of the people's needs may be closed up without further delay? IRST WALL-STREET BROKER: I wish there was something doing in our line. Srconp W.-S. B.: Why, there is. I went short on a couple of beefsteaks A SHORT CUT HOME FROM THE LINKS this morning. “BUY SOME BALLS, MISTER?