Life, 1915-10-28 · page 11 of 52
Life — October 28, 1915 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts an interior scene where a young child sits on the floor examining what appears to be illustrated material, while adults stand nearby. The caption reads: "Pa, what is a white slave?" / "You are looking at one now, my boy" This satirical cartoon addresses **child labor exploitation**—a major Progressive Era social issue. The "white slave" reference indicates the child worker in the scene, suggesting that industrial child labor in America paralleled transatlantic slavery in its exploitation. The father's bitter response implies resigned acceptance of this social injustice. The accompanying text sections discuss unrelated topics: public notice writing standards, Arctic travel observations, and 1912 economic predictions. The cartoon's darker social commentary contrasts sharply with the lighter surrounding content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
cy “PA, WHAT IS A WHITE SLAVE?” “YOU ARE LOOKING AT ONE NOW, MY BOY” Better Notices Needed UBLIC notices ought to be examples of the best writing. They should be written by masters of style. Take, for example, the notice in the street cars: Passengers requiring transfers must request same from conductors at the time of depositing fares in box. Of course, that is understandable. It is about as good English as one would expect in a judge’s opinion. But it is not good enough for a notice that hundreds of thou- sands of people are to read every day. Here is New York spending forty millions a year for literary and other in- struction for children who, when they ride in the street cars, are exposed to managers’ English and taught, as to transfers, to “ request same from conductors.” Shocking! Of course the notice ought to read: Passengers who want transfers must ask for them when they put their fares in the box. Elastic Conviviality “ZT JP in the Arctic regions the nights are six months long,” remarked the Extensive Traveler. “Thasso?” said the Inebriated One. “Gee! Think of a crowd of Eskimos singing, ‘We won't go home until morning.” No Bite in This Dog Four more years of Democratic misrule! would the business of the country be in 1920? Charles Sumner Bird. Where HERE was it in 1912, Mr. Bird? Was it so wonder- fully good? It is in a much better case now than it was last year, and at present rate of improvement, in spite of an unprece- dented war, it will be running over its banks in 1920. comicbooks.com