Life, 1916-03-23 · page 9 of 52
Life — March 23, 1916 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Image:** "A Meeting of the Unemployed" shows a large crowd of working-class people gathered on a platform, depicting unemployment during what appears to be an economic downturn (likely the Great Depression era, given the clothing styles and composition). **Bottom Section:** Two allegorical drawings labeled "Mating" compare courtship across history—"1950 B.C." shows primitive figures, while "1950 A.D." depicts a modern man carrying material possessions and chaos. **"A Wordy Moral":** The accompanying verse jokes that a man may not be known by the company he keeps ("the pact"), but rather by the "fist" behind his actions—suggesting that true character emerges through force or conflict, not mere associations. The satire appears to contrast primitive versus modern mating rituals and social behavior.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
out sent up a carload of presents for the girls, and among them as handsome a shield and spear as could be had from the factory. Then he waited around while the girls sorted the gifts, and when he saw a likely young A MEETING OF THE UNEMPLOYED woman jump for the shield and spear he enlisted her. The moral of this tale is that a man may not always be known by the com- pany he keeps. E, S. Martin MATING A Wordy Moral HE “ paci” adds a happy touch; But, all the same, we find it Just doesn’t seem to matter much Without the “ fist” behind it. comicbooks.com