Life, 1914-10-01 · page 31 of 48
Life — October 1, 1914 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon ("The Piping Times of Peace"):** This satirizes post-WWI economic conditions. The figures appear to represent labor and capital: a man on the left (likely a worker or union representative) gestures at various symbols of prosperity—a fairy, ship, factory wheel, and businessman—suggesting wealth and stability supposedly available during peacetime. The right figure tends a fire, implying unrest or instability. The irony is that despite "peace," economic benefits aren't reaching workers. **Bottom Comic Strip:** Shows two workers discussing wages. One complains their employer is "payin' already too high vages" while simultaneously depositing money in a savings bank—exposing the hypocrisy of wealthy employers claiming poverty while accumulating personal wealth. This critiques labor exploitation and wage suppression in the 1920s. **Essay ("Have You a Little Switzerland?"):** Metaphorically encourages readers to cultivate mental refuge—intellectual/spiritual peaks protected from worldly turmoil—using Switzerland's neutrality as an extended metaphor for mental peace amid social conflict.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“THE PIPING TIMES OF PEACE” “SAY, ISAAC! YE'RE PAYIN' ALREADY TOO HIGH VAGES. OUR EMPLOYERS GOIN’ IN A SAVINGS BANK YESTERDAY” Have You a Little Switzerland? VERYBODY should have a Switzerland, Everybody should have a cool and lofty place in his mind, inaccessible to warring factions, and neutral. But it isn't safe to have a neutral spot unless it is protected by natural advantages. No neutral spot should be too low. Many cherished ideas of the mind, of permanent and abiding value, have been wiped out because of the inroads of nearby discordant ele- ments. Think of the number of peo- ple you know whose minds are all low countries! If you have not in you at present a Switzerland, make one at once. Get a small but select group of snow- topped mountain peaks, reaching up into the blue vault of thought. Protect them by mountain passes. Thus, when you tire of the strife of the lower soul, of battle, murder and sudden death, of lusts and looting and lies, you may have a protected vantage- ground, where battle-scarred thoughts may be nursed back to life and calm, cool actions planned. Where you can learn to yodel and the pure echo may be carried hack through the clear air to your own heart,