Life, 1915-04-15 · page 12 of 44
Life — April 15, 1915 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains two satirical pieces: **"On Life's Wire"** depicts a conversation between "Life" (personified) and "Jitney" about the latter's financial precarity. The satire targets the "jitney bus" craze—cheap, unregulated shared-ride services that proliferated in the 1910s-20s, undercutting established taxi and streetcar companies. Life advises Jitney to avoid Wall Street speculation and political entanglement, warning that the industry attracts corrupt influences. The joke is that even a humble jitney operator faces the same pressures as wealthy businessmen. The cartoon above shows a bear and rabbit, with the rabbit claiming to run a "marathon," likely satirizing some contemporary endurance craze or questionable business venture. The page also advertises relief efforts for Belgian war sufferers, dating this to WWI era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Rabbit: The Bear: Nove. WHAT'S THE IDEA, FATTY? bol JUST OUT FOR A LITTLE TRAMP. G A MARATHON ? On Life’s Wire LO, Lire. This is the Jitney Bus speaking.” “Hello, Jitney. Mighty glad you called up. Anything new?” “Nothing special. Have you noticed how fast | have been spreading from ity to city?” Yes, indeed. lustiest and most promising y that the stork of social evolution has brought us for a long time.” “Tam delighted to hear that you are not antagonistic, Lire. You know, 1 am likely to interfere with a great many easy dividends before I'm through.” “Never mind about that, Jitney. Just think how been interfering with the comfort of You are one of the wngsters long those dividends have the public.” “You think, then, there is a real need for me at this time, do ye Lire?” “There certainly is. You can relieve us, not only from the well-known abuses of the traction companies, but also from the thieving arrogance of the taxicab companies. But you must look out for the pitfalls.” “Pitfalls, Lire? What do mean?” “Keep yourself meled as at present, Jitney. not been fiscalized and You have no bonds to sell and no pr ferred stocks and no common stocks and no watered stocks. And you have no expensive underwriters and_ fiscal You have no loot- you free and untram- You have capitalized. agents to support. ing directors to direct everything into In short, you have Stay their own pockets. no connection with Wall Street. that way.” “That sounds like very good advic Lier, and I'll do my best to follow it “Let yourself not be monopoli: And do not take to dealing And keep 3 from They will corrupt you even as you try to corrupt them. And do not—but that is enough advice for Jitney. in franchises. city councils. one session.” “Thank you so much, Lire. What vou have said will be a wonderful in- spiration to me. Good-bye.” “Good-bye, Jitney, and may pros- perity bless you.” E. 0. J. Why Some People Travel 'O be able to tell others they have seen the world. To prevent themselves from acquir- ing any accurate knowledge of the places they visit. To wear out old clothes and get new ones. To get acquainted with their n door neighbors, who frequently ac- company them. To achieve dyspepsia. To please their wives—when wives go also. To please their husbands—when their husbands stay at home. To bore their friends afterwards, To be able to fill in their time by complaining about systems of trans- portation. To be wicked without remorse. To discover that all the new people they meet are, after all, just like the old ones. To air their ignorance. To make a virtue of discomfort. To get back home. For the Sufferers Lire has received the following contribu tions for the relief of the Belgian sufferers: anda Protectorate. British $403 ictetus, U.S. Ship and parcels of apparel from rmantown, Pa.. and the Wall- . Aurora-on-Cay ¥. the FIVE MINUTES WITH AN ACTOR