Life, 1915-05-06 · page 34 of 56
Life — May 6, 1915 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents Life's signature format: a witty cartoon and series of brief, sardonic quotes with responses that puncture pomposity through absurdist logic. **The Cartoon**: Shows "Admiral Bunny" (a anthropomorphic rabbit) injured by automobiles, threatening future retaliation—a visual joke about animals learning to fight back against technology. **The Satire**: The quotes are attributed to real public figures (Judge Wadhams, Billy Sunday's wife, etc.) and respond with logical inversions. Examples: - When a judge claims women commit fewer crimes because they have higher ideals, Life counters: "Why should they when so many men are willing?" - A doctor's optimism about typhus treatment is met with: "And kill the patient?" - Professor Fisher's claim that "more civilization" cures civilization's ills draws the response that this remedy has worsened since Rome's fall. **The Point**: Early 20th-century American satire mocking contemporary self-help wisdom, moral pronouncements, and technological optimism by exposing logical contradictions and unintended consequences—suggesting the era's solutions created as many problems as they solved.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ADMIRAL BUNNY HAVING HAD TWO RIBS AND A COLLAR BONE BROKEN BY AUTOMOBILES, SAYS THERE WILL BE A DIFFERENT STORY TO TELL IF HE IS HIT AGAIN “They Say” THEy say women differ from men. So they do. Their ideals are generally higher, they commit fewer crimes.—Judge W. H. Wadhams. Why should they comrait crimes when so many men are willing? Even in the brains of serious German folk there has grown up the crazy tieory that the German standard of lying has depreciated.—Maximilian Harden, But why complain? The standard of killing is still maintained. It's wonderful how much fussing it takes to make him happy.—Mrs. Billy Sunday. Even a cash register has to be oiled up and fussed over. ee ee But if everybody had a million dollars murders would still be committed. —Frank Lord, Second Deputy Police Commissioner. Naturally. People would still fall in love. ee @ @ Contrasted with the mellow work of English writers, American books too often appear like promiscuous, gawky young folk recently out of a college whose location they are obliged to explain to inquiring friends. It_is not pleasant to say this—Mrs. Ela W. Peattie, of Chicago, writer and critic. Why say it when everybody knows it? Half of the people do not care whether the other half go to hell or not—Billy Sunday. Why should they when it’s all they can do to look out for themselves? Never force a child. There is no danger of ove burdening his brain with knowledge as long as he is in- terested. When you see you are tiring him, let him rest.—Mrs. Winifred Sackville Stoner, That’s good advice. Also, why not teach him to do the same thing to you? se oe 6 I believe the three greatest evils of to-day are intem- perance, greed and war.—John Burroughs. And among those present are: Law, Oratory and Idle Women, ee @ 8 If the typhus germ has been isolated, it is likely that a serum will be discovered soon to counteract the dis- ease—Dr. William H. Welch, Professor of Pathology at Johns Hopkins. And kill the patient? Rarely has a human being developed his brain to the capacity for overwork.—Elbert Hubbard. Have you ever tried to read all the short stories in one month’s magazines? s 8 # @ The cure for the evils of civilization is more civilization. —Professor Irving Fisher. But how much more? We have been taking it in in- creasing doses since Rome fell, but the remedy appears to be worse than the disease. SOMETHING NEW IN THE WAY OF STRAWS