Life, 1915-03-04 · page 12 of 48
Life — March 4, 1915 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate pieces: **"Billy Sunday for Art's Sake"** (top left): A defense of evangelist Billy Sunday's inflammatory speaking style. The author argues that while Sunday's emotional appeals may seem crude, they're effective—and great performers have always used similar techniques. The piece advocates tolerating his methods "for art's sake." **"Forgetful"** (bottom left): A political cartoon showing a figure appearing to forget the protective tariff's historical role in American prosperity. The accompanying text sarcastically chides this "forgetfulness," suggesting someone is ignoring established economic policy. **The store scene** (right): A humorous exchange between a clerk and customer about imitation gemstones as a wedding gift—a man who "threw me down." The page reflects early 20th-century American debates about protectionism and evangelicalism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
360 Billy Sunday for Art's Sake (Oe objection to Billy Sunday is that his whole appeal is to the emotions; that it is equally effective whether he talks sense or nonsense, and that the great numbers of people who are influenced by his kind of talk are in training to be swayed and used by the next political demagogue who ad- dresses them. There is something in that, but it applies to nearly all evangelists and to most orators. Great performers like Billy Sunday, George Whitefield, Old Doc. Bryan and Daniel Webster can’t be abolished because they sometimes say what isn’t so and get the peepul used to being fooled. We just have to take our chances with them. The peepul are going to be fooled a good deal of the time, anyway, and for art’s sake they might as well now and then have the benefit of a good performer, Forgetful As long as most of us can remember, the basis of American prosperity has been good crops, at profitable selling prices. —Boston Advertiser, UT, tut, brother; how you forget your lesson! How can you forget that for as long as most of us can remember the basis of American prosperity has been the protective tariff! To think that you, of all people, should forget that! Clerk: you WISH ME TO TAKE OUT THESE STONES AND PUT IN IMITATIONS? Customer: YES. 11'S A WEDDING PRESENT FOR A GIRL WHO THREW ME DOWN, YOU KNOW. The New Order John D., Jr, and Mother Jones join forces. Newspaper headline. JANNOUNCEMENTI The Taft-Roosevelt Lecture Bureau. Supplies an evening’s unparalleled enter- tainment at minimum rates. When curtain rises Colonel Roosevelt will be discovered sitting on Brother Taft’s lap. Personal Notes: Mr. Billy Sunday is passing the week- end in Baltimore, at the home of Cardinal Gibbons. Sir Edward Grey and Bernard Shaw are planning a “Money’s TIGHT” motoring trip together through the Grampian Hills. comichooks.dom