Life, 1915-07-22 · page 13 of 44
Life — July 22, 1915 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains two satirical pieces: **Top cartoon** ("Git Hung, Nigger—Git Hung!"): Depicts an execution scene where a woman watches a man about to be hanged. The crude caption suggests lynching violence, likely satirizing either actual lynching or violent rhetoric of the era. **"Unpreparedness"**: Criticizes lack of defensive measures against unwanted solicitation. It mocks both aggressive sales tactics (pressing buttons, mine explosions as metaphors) and telephone companies' new practice of selling goods by phone, presented as invasive and unstoppable. **"A Monopoly"**: A brief dialogue joke about monopolistic business practices—the "Mere Man" notes that consumers have no choice of alternative stores, trapping them. The bottom illustration shows children discovering something outdoors, with Tommy asking if it's a beetle or berry. Without knowing the specific publication date, the exact historical context remains unclear.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“GIT HUNG, NIGcER—GIT HUNG!” Unpreparedness A’ present there are no concerted defensive measures against being called up over the telephone by people with whom we do not wish to talk. Each one of us in this respect is unfortified. We can- not press a button and explode a mine under a man whose consummate nerve establishes his only claim upon you. The telephone company is now adding to the horrors of the situation by advocating selling goods by telephone. The book agent is thus admittedly on a par with one’s best friend. He may intrude upon your solitude with impunity, Telling him to go to the devil will not accom- plish anything. He will not go, and your train of thought has been derailed. A Monopoly r7s4 never know what the future has in store for us,” ROR quoth the Parlor Philosopher. “No; and the worst of it is, we can’t go to any other Tomyty: 1 WONDER IF DIS IS A BEETLE OR A BERRY? store,” added the Mere Man, “TASTE IT AN’ SEE.” comicbooks.com