Life, 1914-10-22 · page 33 of 44
Life — October 22, 1914 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three separate satirical pieces: **Top illustration**: A philosophical cartoon about fate—two figures meeting in a forest path, questioning whether chance encounters by ancestors determined their existence. It's existential humor about life's randomness. **"Men Wanted" advertisement**: A mock job listing satirizing public hysteria about rabid dogs. Life ridicules the "mad-dog scare" as manufactured panic, accusing opportunists of spreading unfounded fears about rabies to manipulate health officials and legislators. The absurd fake address (Devil's Crossing, Cruelty Terrace) underscores the cynicism—suggesting someone profits from promoting dog-muzzle ordinances through scaremongering. **"Would Do It Anywhere" dialogue**: A brief joke where a father tells a flatterer his son isn't wasting talent in their small town—he'd waste it anywhere. It's mild social commentary about provincial limitation versus opportunity, or simply about mediocrity. The page satirizes public manipulation, institutional corruption, and small-town futility through humor typical of early 20th-century American magazines.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
IF THESE PATHS, TAKEN AT RANDOM RY YOUR GREAT-GREAT-GRANDPARENTS, HAD NOT CONVERGED, WHERE WOULD YOU BE Now? Men Wanted WWANTED=In every community. Energetic men to get up annual mad-dog scares. Congenial work for right parties. Must be in sincere sympathy with the hydro- phobia superstition and have thorough working knowledge of the same, Must not be too particular about the truth, and, above all, should possess an influential intimacy with the local health officials and legislative authorities. In writing please state previous condition of servitude. Ad- dress Dog-Muzzle Manufacturer, Commercial Boulevard, Cruelty Terrace, Devil’s Crossing, U. S. A. Would Do It Anywhere 'HE FLATTERER: But don’t you think your son is wasting his talents in this little burg? Tue Macnate (cawstically): Of course he is, but he might as well waste them here as somewhere else. HOW YOUR LITTLE BOY APPEARS TO YOU WHEN YOU ARE TRYING TO DODGE THAT HALF FARE comicbooks.com