Life, 1914-12-03 · page 42 of 92
Life — December 3, 1914 — page 42: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a charitable appeal page tied to World War I relief efforts. The main cartoon ("A Christmas Him") depicts Santa Claus or a gift-giver laden with packages, illustrating the Christmas spirit of generosity. The page solicits donations for "non-combatant war sufferers"—likely Belgian and French refugees displaced by fighting. A Mrs. Duryea, writing from Dinard (a French town), has organized relief efforts and secured employment for some refugees, but thousands remain homeless and destitute. The accompanying essay on "Experience" is philosophical—discussing how experience teaches us to avoid or repeat circumstances, using examples like a child learning fire is dangerous or a couple's repeated kisses eventually becoming unwelcome after years of marriage. It concludes that experience is ultimately "unreliable." The page represents Life magazine's attempt to balance serious humanitarian concerns with their typical satirical humor and literary content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
DECEMBER 3, 1914 ‘While there is Life there's Hope"* VOL. 64 No. 1675 Published by LIFE PUBLISHING COMPANY J. A. Mircwett, Pres't. A. Mittra, Sec’y and Treas. 17 West Thirty-first Street, New York English Offices, Rolls House, Breams Bldgs., London, E. C. For theta fferers 'HE amounts received for the non- combatant war sufferers and ac- knowledged below bring the record to November 19th, inclusive. + +$1,662.60 20.00 1.00 $.00 1.00 Previously acknowledged . G., San Francisco, Cal Cit, Br Soute Orange, N. J) C. B, Missoula, Mont. J. C.'C. Club, ‘Winona. Through W. T. Robertson, Rock- ford, Il. Anonymous, Denver. Colo Mrs. W. H. B.. New Yor Katherine C. Fisher, 29.00 2 10.00 City... 20.00 Washington, 5.00 Mise Anis M. Lawrence, V fasbing- ton, K. E., Brookline, Mass Clegg Children, Fellows, Cai. Through Mrs. Mary E. Rock, S Barbara. Cal. L. G. V., Tuolum: Anonymous, Oshkosh. Wi: Miss Dana Sexton, Harlehur Miss Hill’s School. Augusta. G: V. Pelton, Poug! $.00 10.00 5.00 144.00 3.00 5.00 1.00 10.00 10.00 $1,946.60 Mrs. Duryea advises us from Dinard that the responses to her Ictter printed in Live have been so generous that she has organized a society of the leading citizens, men and- women of Brittany and foreign residents there, to co- operate with her in the work of relief. One extremely valuable branch of the relief work is securing work for the thousands of refugees who have overflowed from the scene of the fight- ing into that more peaceful district. Their need is very great, but French manufacturers and employers of labor have already been able to find work for a considerable number. Thousands still remain, though, homeless and helpless, in want of food and clothing. It seems peculiarly appropriate in this Christmas number of Lire, when the spirit of giving is at its strongest, to renew the appeal to the generosity of Lire’s read- ers in behalf of the innocent victims of the world’s greatest and most wicked catastrophe. The response of our friends has already been generous and al- ready is doing something toward relieving the tremendous aggregate of human mis- ery and desolation, Lire’s function is to make sure that the gifts of its read- ers are directed into the channels where there can be no doubt that every con- tribution reaches its intended destina- tion. If you feel that you must give, give now, Experience XPERIENCE is a something which makes us aware of the fact that a certain combination of circumstances may happen over again. The memory of this being retained, we appear to have a choice presented to us of either avoiding it or selecting it. A combi- nation of circumstances may be repre- sented by the burning of a child, or by candy-stuck fingers. In the one case the child learns to dread the fire and to avoid the combination the sec- ond time. In the other case he eagerly A CHRISTMAS HIM A combination of cir- cumstances may, however, run its course in experience. A kiss is a com- bination of circumstances. Coming from the same person, a constant repe- tition may be voluntarily persisted in, but persisted in too long, the victim seeks to avoid it at last. This is due to another combination of circum- stances, represented, say. by eight or ten years of married life. Experience is, therefore, intensely unreliable. Just as we think it has taught us something, we are obliged to cast it aside as being worthless. welcomes it. comicbooks.com