Life, 1914-10-08 · page 16 of 44
Life — October 8, 1914 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page contains satirical commentary on eliminating middlemen from commerce. The "Historical Fragment" ridicules the idea that direct farmer-to-consumer sales could extend to other industries—suggesting authors could sell ideas directly to readers without publishers, or oil could pipe directly to street corners, making Standard Oil "negligible." The accompanying cartoon jokes about the absurdity of this logic. A professor's wife asks a piano mover about his wages and hard work, expecting sympathy. He replies they're not musicians but "delivery men"—implying even moving pianos requires no special skill or compensation. The satire targets both those naively proposing to eliminate all intermediaries AND the class presumption that manual laborers deserve less consideration. It's early-20th-century commentary on industrial efficiency schemes and labor economics, presented through sharp comic irony.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
REAL ESTATE—UNIMPROVED AND Historical Fragment 'HE. idea of having the farmers sell their products direct to the people in cities was so revolutionary that it naturally at first filled many able minds with con- sternation. After this had passed, however, a supreme genius arose, who suggested somewhat timidly—owing to the probable loss of perspnal dignity which his suggestion might incur—that the idea should be extended. “Tf” he said, “by simply reserving a couple of vacant city lots where the farmers can gather, the people can obtain vegetables much fresher and lower in price than ever before, why not cut out the middleman altogether?” Thereupon the Authors’ League hired another vacant lot and celebrated thinkers and literary artisans talked their ideas direct to the consumers, thus dispensing with print- ing-presses and publishers who had, up to this time, begun to regard themselves as almost necessary. It was even declared that in due course of time pipe lines would be run from the Pennsylvania oil wells to cer- tain street corners in cities, thereby making the Standard Oil Company what is known in cerebral circles as a “negligible quantity”, The consent of the government, however, being necessary, some people thought this might not be accom- plished... Professor's W: 1 SUPPOSE YOU HAVE HAKD WORK AND SMALL PAY? Piano Mover: Ov, WE'RE NOT REGULAR MUSICIANS, LADY; WE JUST DELIVER GOODS. comicbooks.com