Life, 1915-12-23 · page 35 of 40
Life — December 23, 1915 — page 35: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from Life magazine (appears to be WWI-era, based on references to war) combines satirical commentary with period advertising. **The Main Satire:** The article "Those Kings Must Be Looked After" mocks the impending collapse of European monarchies after WWI. It proposes a darkly humorous "solution": establishing a suburban colony where deposed kings could be employed in menial work—driving taxis or becoming movie actors. The satire targets both the obsolescence of monarchy and American attitudes toward these fallen rulers, suggesting they're useless without their crowns and must be "retrained" for ordinary employment. The joke's bite comes from treating the end of centuries-old dynasties as a practical employment problem. **Other Content:** The left side includes sentimental war-related poetry ("The Priceless Gift") appealing to Santa for peace, typical of wartime sentiment. The page is otherwise dominated by period advertisements for sauces, whisky, hotels, and horse supplies—typical Life magazine content of the era. The satire assumes readers' familiarity with ongoing European political upheaval and finds dark humor in the kings' reduced circumstances.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
mm hook. ed from ddressed of uns The Priceless Gift An Appeal to Santa Claus EAR SANTA CLAUS, from out thy pack Give us our old-time world-peace back, ‘That smiling hearths may come again Where now all's black with sodden pain, And sorrow’s flow Hath filled the human heart with woe. Bring to the lips of children song, To broken hearts surcease from wrong, And where now stand the sheaves of war Grant us the harvestings of yore When skies were clear With goodly hope and living cheer. Not sullen peace we ask of thee; Not painted peace all fair to see, But holding hate beneath a mien That's falsely smiling and serene— That mongrel thing With soul of ice and smile of Spring, But that true peace for which HE strove, Our Prince of Amity and Love, Who, from His cross upon the Hill Poured from the depths of His own ill The clarion call— “Peace On the Earth, Good Will to All” John Kendrick Bangs. The Best Excuse Brown: Ignorance of the law ex- cuses no one. Situ: Quite so. It is much bet- ter to be rich and hire good lawyers. THE IDEAL WINTER RESORT tw'Enervatine | BERMUDA PRINCESS HOTEL i035 Becember to May. Best loration and equipment on the islaad. Modern service throughout. Grill room, tiled swimming bool, out own fleet of yachts; superb drives, eddie riding, gol ten- bis, 3ea bathing. 43 hours from New York. S. S. Passage by Quebec S. S. Co., 32 Broadway, . HOWE & TWOROGER, Mgrs, | Hamilton, Bermuda. Horse Owners Are Saved needless expense and trouble by the use of Capewel ing, These nails hold under the severest strains, They enable a borse to bring his shoes home with him. Especially needed when pads are used. cata acnit, fe, cheapest call regardless of \yEAp sepllty, but the best Ia the world at Or lish, Oyster: Lobsters Crabs and Hot and Colg Meats For those with palates sensitive to natural delicate flavors, nothing can ever take the place of Oscar’s Sauce with crab-flakes, turbot, or cold cut. The subtle contrast of the condiment brings out all the rich flavor of the delicacy itself. At the request of its inventor, Oscar of the Waldorf, Oscar’s Sauce is now prepared by the Beech-Nut Com- pany—is one of the Beech-Nut Delicacies. Beech-Nut Oscar’s Sauce may be had for your private or club table of most good provisioners. Makers of America’s Most Famous Bacon—Beech-Nut Bacon BEECH-NUT PACKING COMPANY CANAJOHARIE, N. Y. ‘Sen410 cents in stamps for the newest, most fascinating game—"'Going to Market “amusing and instructive and gure to interest the whole facaly, EN Those Kings Must Be Looked After S it yet too early for us to arrange for some place to shelter the kings who at the end of I the war will undoubtedly have to go somewhere for rest and quiet? Every king, we take it, is entitled to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. While no king can be expected to make a living for himself, we believe, nevertheless, that useful employment, with a little training, could be secured for some of the leading European kings who will come to us as soon as the revolutions start. A suburban colony of kings would not be a bad idea. tion in a suburban taxi, by a king who has once held down a European throne, would be worth double the present price. With a little coaching, any king ought to make a fairly good moving-picture actor. To be driven home from your sta- comicbooks.com