Life, 1916-02-03 · page 32 of 48
Life — February 3, 1916 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical pieces reflecting early 20th-century anxieties: **"Elegy"** (poem by Arthur Guiterman): A darkly humorous meditation on the fall of great civilizations—Babylon, Persepolis, Nineveh, Tyre. The poem's ironic twist: don't mourn these collapsed empires; celebrate that their rulers had "a lovely time." The satire targets both nostalgia for lost grandeur and the obliviousness of elites to consequences. **"A Savior"** (illustrated story): This mocks the era's obsession with "efficiency experts"—consultants who promised to optimize business operations. A weary businessman encounters a "non-efficiency expert" offering the opposite: permission to waste time, restore sentiment, and escape relentless productivity demands. The businessman's emotional embrace ("Come and live with me!") satirizes how desperately overworked Americans craved escape from efficiency culture. The illustration shows period dress and interior design; the caption describes a job-seeker offering reliable service—a practical contrast to the story's fantastical savior figure.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Elegy THE jackals prowl, the serpents hiss In what was once Persepolis. Proud Babylon is but a trace Upon the desert’s dusty face. The topless towers of Ilium Are ashes. Judah's harp is dumb. The fleets of Nineveh and Tyre Are down with Davy Jones, Esquire. And all the oligarchies, kings And potentates that ruled these things Are gone! But cheer up; don’t be sad; Think what a lovely time they had! Arthur Guiterman, A Savior * AY I have an hour or so of your time?” It was a pleasant, soft-voiced gen- tleman who spoke; it was the very audacity of his request that arrested the attention of the man of business, who gasped: “An hour!” “Yes, sir. Permit me to recline at ease in this chair. Don’t be alarmed. I'm not a book agent, nor an insurance man. I’m a non- efficiency expert.” “Non?” “Yes, sir—non. You've heard of efficiency, haven't you?” “T've heard of nothing else. Look at my filing system.” “Exactly. Well, I teach the op- posite. Show you how to waste four or five hours a day in the most de- lightful manner. Restore all the in- herent poetry and sentiment in your nature. Let you do as you please with your time and your business. Make you feel as if you didn’t care a hang whether you get the most out of yourself or not. New idea. I guarantee to keep off all the effi- ciency experts who have been show- ing you how to run your affairs. Shall I stay?” The tired business man went over and put his arms around the stranger. Bookkeeper, unmarried, secks employment; no clock-watcher, earnest, thoroughly “Stay,” he whispered. “Come capable of assuming full charge and live with me!” FROM THE WANT COLUMNS Comicbooks.com