Life, 1915-05-13 · page 34 of 52
Life — May 13, 1915 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page (page 866) contains satirical commentary on early 20th-century American politics and society, centered around women's suffrage and social reform. **Main Cartoon:** "The Way the Average Picture-Puzzle Committee Feels" depicts a chaotic roller coaster or slide with figures tumbling downward—likely satirizing the confusion and upheaval caused by women gaining voting rights. The caption mocks the naïve logic that women's enfranchisement will automatically eliminate the "ruling class." **"They Say" Section:** A series of brief satirical quotes puncture pretensions: - Women smoking cigarettes objecting to factory workers (hypocrisy) - American newspapers being "the best in the world" (clearly false outside major cities) - Suggesting educating newspaper *reporters* is too ambitious—if educated, they'd demand editor education too (mockery of intellectual resistance to reform) **Other Jokes:** Political cynicism about the next president; a mathematical puzzle exposing the illogical cost structure of Hudson River transportation companies; and a bar-room quip about staying neutral in arguments. The overall tone: skeptical of progressive claims while satirizing establishment resistance to reform.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE WAY THE AVERAGE PICTURE-PUZZLE “They Say” ITH the enfranchisement of women the ruling class will disappear forever—Carrie Chapman Catt. How can the ruling class disappear just because they are enfrarchised? eeee I understand that some New York women who smoke cigarettes object to country women working in factories. —Senator Thompson, Objection sustained. COMMITTEE FEELS AFTER RENDERING ITS DE American newspapers are regarded as the best in the world.—Member of a commission appointed by President Yuan Shi Kai. He ought to have added “ outside of the larger cities”. eeee Why not educate reporters?—T. M. Osborne, Warden of Sing Sing, in the ening Post. You are too ambitious, Mr. Osborne. If that were done we would soon want to educate editors. Physically and mentally the American woman is now almost superwoman. Her body is developed, har- monious, athletic and resists fatigue. She is well read, she is instructed in the sci- ences, arts and philosophy. The French woman has been the most perfect type of femininity of the past. I look to the American woman to first realize our ideals-for the future. —M., Jules Bois. Somebody has been tak- ing pretty good care of M. Bois during his visit here. I don’t know who is go- ing to be the next Presi- dent, but I do know he is going to be a Republican. — Hon, James R. Mann, of Chicago. Why so pessimistical? He might be a Prohibi- tionist, you know. A Little Problem the telephone company charges 15 cents to carry your voice across the Hudson River, and if the telegraph company charges 25 cents to carry ten words across, and if the ferryboat charges 3 cents to carry your body across, and if the tunnels charge 7 cents for carry- ing your body under the Hudson River, and if the express companies charge 28 cents for carrying a 20-pound parcel across, and if the government charges 15 cents for carrying a 20-pound parcel across, compute the amount of logic in a square inch of modern civilization. | ON STRANGER: I don’t want to get in wrong here, Tell me, what is the safest side for a man to take when they start a war argument here? Bartenver: The outside.