Life, 1915-04-22 · page 9 of 44
Life — April 22, 1915 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features a satirical cartoon of animals at a formal dinner, with an ostrich as the central figure addressing a waiter. The ostrich complains about being kept waiting, threatening to "swallow the knives and forks"—a reference to the old myth that ostriches eat anything. Below is an editorial feature titled "What Would You Do If—" presenting three hypothetical moral dilemmas for readers: 1. A newspaper proprietor discovering his paper championed a woman whose views oppose his wife's 2. A military leader realizing his pursuit of power contradicts peace 3. (Third scenario partially visible) The feature invites reader contemplation of ethical conflicts between personal ambition and principle. The ostrich cartoon and text together satirize how people—like the mythical ostrich—sometimes avoid difficult truths rather than address them directly.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
” U4 4% soso IWsextx Mr. Ostrich: What Would You Do If— OU were the proprietor of a large and profitable news- paper, with an extensive advertising patronage and your surplus money invested in Wall Street enterprises, and were asked to print a true story which might benefit thousands of poor people, but at the expense of yourself and your stockholders?—What would you do? After sitting comfortably in a surface car reading your paper, you should look up and discover that the tall, hand- some woman of middle age who had been hanging onto a strap in front of you for the past twenty minutes was the mother of the girl you were nerving yourself up to Propose to that evening ?—What would you do? You should meet at a social function a rabid suffragette, and, because she was a woman and you didn’t want to WAITER, I'VE ALREADY EATEN THE SALT-CELLARS AND VINEGAR-BOTTLE, AND IP YOU KEEP ME WAITING MUCH LONGER I'LL SWALLOW THE KN AND ForKs! start anything, you hurriedly made up your mind to agree with her, and while you were thus agreeing with her you should suddenly be joined by another woman who held exactly the opposite views and with whom, upon previous occasions you also agreed—and who likewise hap- pened to be your wife?—Then what would you do? You were the ruler of a great people whose chief merit was their ability and industry, and upon whom you had fastened a military system and had roused them to a pas- sion of power and lust, and sent them out to murder their fellow men, and rob and grab and plunder and Ireak faith and law and honor, and suddenly realized that you were bound to lose infinitely more in the long run than if you had led them into the path of peace, and that even now it was not too late?—Then what would you do? comicbooks.com