Life, 1914-11-05 · page 42 of 48
Life — November 5, 1914 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines beer advertising with social satire typical of early 20th-century *Life* magazine. **The Main Cartoon:** "Be on the Safe Side" advertises Schlitz beer in brown bottles, arguing that light exposure causes decay in beer (a real concern of the era). The visual shows a bottle pouring into a glass above a cityscape—a straightforward product ad. **The Satire Below:** "The Duty of All Investigating Committees" mocks government oversight as performative theater. It references steamboat safety inspections on Long Island Sound, sarcastically noting inspectors found fire buckets "well filled with water"—suggesting this bare minimum accomplishment is celebrated while real issues (coal in bunkers, functioning smokestacks) go unchecked. The joke: committees announce trivial findings while ignoring actual safety hazards. **"Behold and Observe"** satirizes the "quitter"—a person who verbally agrees with everything but avoids concrete action, disappearing when real commitment is required. The "white feathers" reference suggests cowardice. The page exemplifies *Life*'s editorial approach: mixing advertisements with pointed social criticism about institutional failures and character flaws.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Be on the Safe Side Decay in any food will cause stomach and liver ailments and a tired, heavy-headed feeling. Beer is food, a saccharine product. Light disturbs its chemical properties causing decay. Beer in light bottles is—??? Schlitz is made pure and brewed in the dark—the Brown Bottle keeps it pure until it is poured into your glass, sparkling and clear as crystal. ) - * in Brown Bottles , See that Crown ts branded “Schlitz” Order a Case The B — e peer seed = —— —————S===_=_s ss = That Made Milwaukee Famou The Duty of All Investigating Committees GREAT many people who have hitherto been skeptical about the condition of the steamboats plying on Long Island Sound will be greatly pleased to learn that the Department of Commerce has been investigating them, and reports that the fire buckets “were found in sufficient quantities and well nlled with water". The report does not state whether the committee which was appointed to investigate notified the boats in advance of their intended visit or not. We hope the committee did. But was the report of the committee as complete as it should have been? Were, for example, the bunkers filled with coal, and the smokestacks filled with hot air? Behold and Observe EHOLD and observe the Quitter. Oh, yes, he is rather a nice-look- ing gentleman, There is nothing par- ticular against him except That he is a quitter. You wouldn’t suspect, on talking with him, that his feet were so cold. He says there is every reason to be- lieve that in the end everything will be all right. He says it looks good to him. He says that lack of confidence is the cause of most of our troubles. He says he believes ir. all of us standing together. He says he feels just that way, too. He will agree with you on every proposition you advance. But when it comes to a real show- down, he recedes so fast that before you can get a line on him he is hull down over the horizon. Ask him to do something actual or immediate and he hides under a do- mestic parlor-rug. Ask him to hold up his end and only a few bubbles are left to show where he dove off. The only corner he ever controls is one in white feathers. Nose Out of Joint OUR YEARS (in Sunday-school) : We've got a new baby at our house. Rector (not recognizing him): And who are you, my little man? Four Years: I'm the old one. TOURING ?—WHY, IT’S that new automobile card game, which fs all the rage pow. Brim full of skillful and interesting plays that furnish keen ‘enjoyment to the entire family. So realistic that in the excitement of the game you can al- most smell the gasoline and attempt to rub the dest out of your eyes, and can hardly keep back the naughty words when ha excee find you are out of “gas,” have a puncture of Game consists of 100 handsomely lithographed cards in ao attractive box. PRICE the speed limit, ete. 50 Cts. Origtontors and Makers since 1899 of POOL TABLES for the HOME “NEW PATENTED REVERSIBLE BILLIARD RAIL Por yout edecatioa, send for oar Msstrated Pool Tehle and Game fctlet AT YOUR DEALER er from WALLIE DORR COMPANY 33 Murray Street __ Manufacturers RUSSIAN W OLFHOUNDS largest Kennels of the breed in the work, These a ‘areas Kind comicbooks.com