Life, 1914-12-03 · page 15 of 92
Life — December 3, 1914 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This story-cartoon satirizes the absurd vanity of after-dinner speakers and their need for validation. A distinguished orator insists on a secret ballot to confirm the audience *wants* to hear him speak. The presiding officer announces that only one "no" vote was cast—presented as flattery rather than criticism. The joke's punchline: a tall man in the rear admits he voted "no" because he's the only attendee who has actually *heard this speaker before*—implying the man's oratory is so tedious that prior experience is reason enough to avoid hearing him again. The satire targets the pomposity of famous speakers who demand adulation while remaining oblivious to their own mediocrity. The elaborate secret-ballot setup, meant to validate the speaker's importance, instead exposes him to the one informed critic in the room.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Only One of His Kind 'HE coffee and cigars had just been brought on, the waiters were rapidly disappearing, and the psycho- logical moment had arrived when the speaking was about to begin. The presiding officer rose and gazed over the several hundred faces facing toward the speakers’ table. “Gentlemen of the Baldine Club,” he said, “ before I introduce "—here he Gar Sle glanced at the miserable man at his right, who was trying to look like a | ZZ man who wasn't being looked at— 1 ZZ “the speaker of the evening, and who, by the way, needs no introduction, I desire to say that he would come here to speak to us this evening only on one condition, and that is that we are all unanimous in wishing to hear him. He wanted to be positive about this, because unless to a man you are all cesirous of listening to him, he would rather not speak. Gentlemen, I want to prove that this is the case, and in the only way possible—by secret ballot. The hat will be passed around, and those who are anxious to listen to the distinguished guest of the evening for as long as he cares to address us will write ‘yes’ on the slip of paper; con- (juisfas fe trary, ‘no’.’ There was a murmur of astonish- j S O)S? ment and applause following the an- j S) ILE & 5¢ ye nouncement. The tellers passed the iS 25? hats. The slips were gone over by the LISLE av presiding officer, assisted by a gentle- man at his left. At last he rose, his face pale. Center of Winter out-of-door life of Middle South Four exellent Heuds—tany Comes AROLINA now open Holly e Berkshire and Harvard open early in January. 5 Special Retee during Dec. and Jan. sFORGE FROST CO. sGéeys BOS’ 2 “Splendid Clay sEORGE FROST CO. 4G BOSTON Courts . Frequent Tournaments . in all sports for desirable prizes “Gentlemes,” he faltered, “I am IN BHIANNSO)NAES For Farther Son, Husbanel , Brrotinerr or kirienel Garter Colors BABY BLUE, MARINE, BLACK, WHITE. TAN, PINK, LAVENDER ND GRAY Sold Everywhere or by Mail Postpaid no consequence. It would be interest- Three 18-hole golf courses and a Pinebarst General Office, Olfice, Pinehurst Leonard Tuits, Owner, Boston, Mass. ry sure the distinguished speaker of the evening, a man with a reputation for oratory that has spread over three continents, will not permit the result to disturb Indeed, there is a sense in which it is the highest flattery. Gentlemen, I regret to inform you that among all the votes cast there is one ‘no’. There was a sweeping sally of ap- plause. Then the presiding officer continned: “Of course this vote iz of ing, however, if the gentleman. who had the extreme discourtesy to vote ‘no’ could be called upon to give his reason.” A tall, quict-looking man rose in the rear. no’,” he said. And your reason, 1 he 1 am not positive, sir, but I imagine it is because I am the only man at this dinner who has ever heard the dis- tinentehed speaker before.” comicbooks.com