Life, 1915-09-16 · page 7 of 48
Life — September 16, 1915 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes corruption among public officials and the moral compromises of ordinary citizens. The dialogue between Father Knickerbocker (representing New York City) and an "average citizen" reveals systemic graft: the citizen admits to being cheated by a corrupt surface-conductor (streetcar operator), paying bribes to dishonest politicians, and lying to newspapers about it. The illustration depicts a deathbed scene—suggesting civic morality is dying. The satire's point: corruption has become so normalized that citizens participate in and accept dishonest practices as routine. The title "Requiem" and final caption ("Gee! Dere ain't none uv us honest dese days") emphasize how widespread corruption has infected all levels of society, from officials to ordinary people.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
T was one o'clock in the morning when Father Knickerbocker sum- moned his average citizen and said: “Have you been insulted by a surface-car conductor by order of the management?” THE DRAG-NET “T have.” “Have you been robbed by a restau- rant?” “Yes, Father.” “ And overtaxed to pay for the graft of a ring of corrupt politicians?” “Yes, Father.” “ And lied to by the papers?” “Yes, Father.” “Then before you go to bed get down on your knees and pray that I may be honored with strength enough to do the same thing over to you every day you liv “cre! DERE AIN'T NONE UV US HONEST DESE DAYS” comicbooks.com