Life, 1916-02-03 · page 16 of 48
Life — February 3, 1916 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon:** "The Life of Attila the Second, Chapter IV" depicts a military or autocratic figure rejecting advice from advisors and his mother. The title sarcastically compares the subject to Attila the Hun, suggesting he's a dictatorial leader who brooks no counsel. The specific historical figure remains unclear from the image alone. **"Conference" Essay:** A satirical piece mocking the ineffectiveness of conferences—portrayed as gatherings of unintelligent people producing resolutions based on "combined ignorance." It criticizes how the "main bore" systematically kills original ideas. This reflects early 20th-century American skepticism toward bureaucratic meetings and their actual utility. **"The Sad Truth":** A brief joke about an American bandit operating in Mexico during the Mexican Revolution era. The humor relies on the idea that neither U.S. nor Mexican forces would shoot him for fear of international incidents—satirizing the political tensions between nations and how outlaws might exploit diplomatic complications.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE LIFE OF ATTILA THE SECOND. CHAPTER IV HE REPUDIATES ALL WHO PRESUME TO ADVISE HIM—INCLUDING HIS MOTHER Conference HE conference is a collection of human beings of almost super- human unintelligence, gathered to- gether for the purpose of passing a series of resolutions based upon their combined ignorance of a particular subject. As a general rule, every conference faces a crisis. Also, every conference feels the sublime necessity of educat- ing the masses. The masses, however, are so used to being educated by con- ferences that they don’t mind it any more; they go about just as if nothing important was happening. Every conference has a main bore, an auxiliary bore, and other bores, sta- tioned at strategic points, When some- body ventures an original idea, which might, if carefully thought out in the seclusion of a closet, have some effect upon something, it is the duty of the main bore to head it off. He invariably succeeds. The Sad Truth IMMIE WILLIS: What are you going to be when you grow up? Tommy Guus: An American ban- dit in Mexico. “But ain't that dangerous?” “Naw. Neither side can shoot you for fear of causing international com- plications.” “THERE'S THE FIVE O'CLOCK WHISTLE, MISTER. WHY DON’T YE QUIT?” comicbooks.com