Life, 1914-10-01 · page 17 of 48
Life — October 1, 1914 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct satirical pieces: **"Tax Vobiscum"** (left): A dark cartoon depicting a skeletal figure labeled as taxation, suggesting that excessive taxes drain citizens of resources and vitality—a common anti-tax critique. **"A Bonny Eight!"** (top right): Critiques eight U.S. states (Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina, Utah) that permitted children under fourteen to work in factories. The satire links child labor to hookworm disease prevalent in those regions, arguing that exploiting children's bodies creates enfeebled adults. **"Humpty-Dumpty: Revised Version"** (bottom right): A political allegory reimagining the nursery rhyme. Humpty-Dumpty (likely representing a leader or institution) falls from a military wall lined with weapons. The "rescue" efforts by the king's forces cause collateral destruction—killing innocent people and demolishing churches—yet ultimately fail to restore him. This appears to satirize destructive military intervention or warfare's futility and civilian cost. All three pieces critique economic exploitation, child welfare neglect, and militarism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“"MID PLEASURES AND PALACES BLESSED are the thrifty, for they shall save things and have them in time of need. But some people are more blessed than others, because they use more wisdom and judgment in deciding what they shall save. There are those, for instance, who recklessly spend themselves in order to save their money only to find when it is too late that their money is of no value to them. Then there are others who spend their money to save themselves. If one knows how to spend his money properly to save himslf, he need never worry, for he will always be able to make more “TAX voBISCUM” A Bonny Eight! 'HERE are eight States that allow children under four- teen to work in factories. They are Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, North Carolina, South Carolina and Utah. As most of these are in hook- worm country, maybe the fact constitutes a clue to the hookworm's presence. Hookworms may be particularly fond of taking up their abode in overworked bodies. In other words, ill-used youth leads to indolent maturity. Revised Version UMPTY-DUMPTY sat on a military wall. It was lined with breech-loaders of the most approved Krupp type, not to mention automatics, machine-guns, bombs, shells and other works of art in destruction, But Humpty-Dumpty, inspired by a sublime confidence in the wall, and undoubtedly believing that he had been divinely appointed to be permanently maintained by it, suddenly, and at the time not really being aware of it himself, had a great fall. Several of the king’s horses and a considerable portion of his men, perceiving this, immediately began the work of rescue. So anxious were they indeed to succeed that they didn’t much care how they proceeded, knocking down old churches and killing a number of innocent people in their stern endeavors. They were joined by others, until all were engaged in this task; yet we regret to say that all of them were not able to put Humpty-Dumpty together again. “THE OLD MAN WAS RAPIDLY LOSING FLESH”