Life, 1914-10-08 · page 40 of 44
Life — October 8, 1914 — page 40: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Left side:** Advertisement for Frederick Palmer, a war correspondent, promoting his serialized reports in *Everybody's* magazine about World War I. Palmer was notably "the only American war-correspondent permitted to accompany the British troops"—a significant credential emphasizing exclusive access to war reporting. **Right side cartoon:** "A German Pancake" depicts a chef flipping something into a pan, likely satirizing German military tactics or aggression during WWI through the metaphor of cooking. **Main article:** "Some Nerve" criticizes the Burton Company's dubious sales tactics. They copied New York's official automobile owner list, mailed unsolicited books titled *"Who's Who in the Automobile"* to owners, then demanded payment with threatening dunning letters—essentially extortion. Life mocks this as an illegal mail scam and warns that legitimizing such tactics could enable similar fraud across commerce. The satire targets predatory business practices dressed up as legitimate enterprise.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
a | FREDERICK PALMER THE ONLY AMERICAN WAR-CORRESPONDENT PERMITTED TO ACCOMPANY THE BRITISH TROOPS ID you read Palmer’s wonderful story in the October EVERYBODY'S? Month by month EVERYBODY'S an Everybody’s only will publish the clear, carefully-weighed reports of this experi- enced dean of American correspondents. Palmer’s knowledge of war is based on twenty years’ study at first-hand. His ability and judgment fit him uniquely to interpret the present titanic happenings for EVERYBODY'S readers. Palmer’s work will be ably supplemented by Henry Reuterdahl, the noted Marine Artist, now in Europe specially commis- sioned by EVERYBODY'S. GGuhodys (GAGAaZIMe | A GERMAN PANCAKE Some Nerve IFE is pleased to note that the authorities are making trouble for Messrs. J. R. Burton & Company, who copied the official list of automobile owners in the office of the New York Secretary of State and published the same at two dollars a copy under the title of “Who's Who in the Auto- mobile?” This was a perfectly segitimate en- terprise if the book had been put on sale in a legitimate way. Instead of that, the publishers simply sent the book to automobile owners without consulting them in advance. With each copy went a bill for two dollars. Shortly after, recipients of the book, which had not been ordered, received also a dunning letter, threatening to draw on the victim if the bill was not paid promptly. Some automobile own- ers received more than one copy of the book. The Burton outht perhaps got their inspiration for the enterprise from certain promoters of charitable enter- tainments who try to sell their tickets in something the same way. It scems extremely doubtful that the Burton people could enforce payment for goods which had not been ordered or contracted for, but their bulldozing method is calculated to intimidate some persons, and it is at best an imperti- nence and an annoyance. It is to be hoped that it will be found to be an iMegal use of the mails Ti this method of selling books is to be allowed, there seems no reason why it should not be applied to the sale of cook-stoves, pearl necklaces, elephants, steam yachts, farms and other articles of trade and commerce. m