Life, 1915-08-12 · page 12 of 40
Life — August 12, 1915 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"The Original Jitney"** cartoon depicts a massive dinosaur carrying multiple tiny human passengers on its back, satirizing the newly popular "jitney" — cheap, informal shared-ride vehicles that were disrupting established transportation monopolies in the early 1900s. **The "Society Item"** text below mocks wealthy women whose lives are consumed by social institutions: doctors, nurses, teachers, transportation companies, newspapers, schools, church, and courts all profit from or regulate her existence. The accompanying bedroom photograph illustrates a woman in bed, captioned with dialogue about taking chances rather than saying prayers—suggesting social satire about idle, privileged women. Both pieces critique early 20th-century American society: commercialized transportation and the frivolous lives of the wealthy elite.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Y Society Item NCE there was a girl whose parents had money and moved in that material substance which is known as “good society.” The doctors prescribed for her. Trained nurses coddled her, Teachers exploited her, Transportation companies smoothed her down. Other countries philologized her, Newspapers reported her, Schools finished her, The church married her. The court divorced her, And a couple of days after her death 1 been reported in the papers— The world forgot her. W' N a man wants some one to piece out his mind he goes and finds a woman to talk to. And a woman in a like situation looks around for a man, WY pier’ ED revo ——l The Sport: 1 Ain’ GOIN’ TO SAY MY PRAYERS TO-NIGHT, MOTHER. I'M GOIN’ TO TAKE A CHANCE” comicbooks.com