Life, 1915-09-16 · page 18 of 48
Life — September 16, 1915 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct pieces of political and social commentary: **"Not Much of a Toast"** mocks Mayor Curley's praise of President Wilson for keeping America out of trouble. The writer argues Wilson deserves credit for taking *risks*—specifically threatening action over violations of American citizens' rights at sea—not for passive avoidance. The comparison to Washington and Lincoln implies true leadership requires courage, not caution. **"No Longer Defensive"** satirizes the Bridgeport corset makers' strike victory, using corsets as metaphor for changing society. The writer suggests corsets once served a genuine "defensive" purpose but now are merely ornamental—paralleling how modern fashion and social norms have shifted. The piece ironically notes munition and corset factories are equally dependent on current civilization; both would become obsolete in peacetime or utopia. **The cartoon "How to Draw a Beautiful Woman"** shows a man scattering money while a woman follows, suggesting women are attracted to wealth—a commentary on gender relations and materialism. **The puzzle illustration** depicts someone contemplating where to deposit money at a savings bank, likely reflecting economic anxiety of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ce SP. Not Much of a Toast AYOR CURLEY’S toast to Presi- dent Wilson at the Governors’ dinner in Boston reads: To the man in the Presidential office, the humanitarian who kept this country out of trouble and who was ready to do his utmost to keep this country from becoming embroiled in trouble. Not really a first-rate toast, Mr. Mayor. Washington was never toasted as a man ready to do his utmost to keep his country out of trouble. Neither was Lincoln. Washington was “ First in war, first in peace.” Lincoln never shrank from getting his country in trouble when it belonged there. President Wilson deserves better of you, Mr. Mayor. He risked a heap of trouble for this country when he said that our government would contend against unjustifiable violations of the rights of American citizens at sea “ without compromise and at any cost.” No Longer Defensive 'HE striking corset makers of Bridgeport won their strike, and because Bridgeport is the Connecticut Essen one feels that it must be another war-material case. Not so. Time was when corsets might be rated as defensive armor. So it was, off and on, since long ago, and especially throughout the Victorian period and well into the present century. aa « “HOW TO DRAW A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN” <a se But not now, Oh, no! Corsets are not at all what they were. They are no longer a defense, no longer a re- straint; restrictive a little they still may be, but in the main they are something to sit down in. The devolution of the corset is one of the wonders of the new century. Doubtless it is a symptom of radical times, as were the fashions of the Directory. But no one seems to disapprove. Hand in hand, maybe, capitalism and corsets—down and WHERE WILL HE DEPOSIT Sl i As to that, who can tell? Who can read the future anywhere just now? But there may be a cousinship that we feel but cannot define between the big corset factories and the big muni- tion factories at Bridgeport, in that they are both accessories of civilization as we know it, and both will pass away if civilization collapses or attains to the millennium, The millennium will have need neither for cartridges nor corsets, but meanwhile the munition makers and the corset girls have all had a raise. es THAT MONEY? comicbooks.com