Life, 1915-10-28 · page 10 of 52
Life — October 28, 1915 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts a caricatured Mexican military figure (likely representing Carranza or Mexican leadership generally) being forcefully restrained by a U.S. Merchant Marine soldier. The exaggerated facial features and military garb suggest ethnic stereotyping common to early 20th-century American satire. The caption—"HERE'S ONE THING WE AGREE ON, ANYWAY!"—indicates both nations ostensibly agree on suppressing something, though the specific reference appears unclear without additional historical context about U.S.-Mexico relations during this period. The accompanying article discusses Mexico's economic and political instability, suggesting American anxiety about Mexican development and governance capacity. The satire implies paternalistic American intervention was justified by Mexican "incompetence."
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
790 Carranza’s Tum in Mexico 'HE trouble with Mexico is that an economic development has been forced on the country that was en- tirely beyond the power of her people to produce, and that as they had not developed the efficiency to produce it, so they have not developed the char- acter to handle it. Possibly the native ability in Mexico is equal to the han- dling in a fashion of an agricultural population, but it is far from being up to the job of running a modern coun- try brimming over with demoralizing opportunities for wholesale plunder. The procedure which has so far been followed for the cure of Mexico scems to have looked to the reduction of her wealth and industrial develop- ment to the level of her available in- telligence and character. This treat- ment by robbery, murder and starva- tion has been pursued with energy and will, no doubt, bring results of a sort in the end. With a reduced population, dismantled railroads, looted ranches, broken banks and burned-out factories Mexico is likely soon to present con- ditions sufficiently simple for Mexican patriots to operate. After all, there are only two ways to run a great busi- ness. One is to bring the operating intelligence up to the level of the job. The other is to bring the job down to the level of the operating intelli- gence. These two processes are con- stantly going on not only in business, but in government. When a business has been reduced to the level of an in- competent intelligence it goes through bankruptcy and gets a receiver. Na- tions are usually saved from a like ex- perience by a change of parties. But in Mexico there are no parties. There are chieftains in hats with wide brims and very large spurs, commanding hungry little armies and taking what there is wherever they go. It is always hard to say at this dis- tance what is under any individual chieftain’s hat. Mr. Bell, who writes in the Outlook about Carranza, repre- sents him as the worst rascal of the lot. If he is to be recognized we must think of him merely as part of the process of bringing Mexican develop- ment and Mexican character into workable relations. S. M. Us. Me A REWANT MARINE KEEPING IT DOWN “HERE'S ONE THING WE AGREE ON, ANYWAY!" One Wise Woman “T HAVE a wonderful idea.” The fond husband gazed lovingly at his wife. “Something,” he continued, “so i so startling, that I hesitate to spring it upon you.” “You forget, dear,” she replied, smil- ing, “how long we have been married. Nothing that you could spring upon me would surprise me. Tell me your idea.” “Tt is that we pass our vacation to- gether this year.” Then the resolute woman rose and faced him, “Never!” she exclaimed. dare you propose such a thing?” “ Because, dear, I thought you would be pleased by the absolute novelty of the idea. What is your objection?” Without hesitation she replied: “This. When we are home we are each so busy with our own affairs that neither of us has time to see too much of the other. But if we went away on a vacation we would be thrown so much together that we would never want to see each other for the rest of our lives.” “How