Life, 1916-03-30 · page 15 of 45
Life — March 30, 1916 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces: **Top image ("The Day's Work"):** A satirical illustration showing what appears to be a public event or gathering, possibly depicting labor, social activity, or civic participation from the early 20th century. **Bottom cartoon and article ("Precautions Needed"):** The cartoon depicts a doctor attending to a bedridden patient. The caption quotes the patient saying he's never felt better, with the doctor responding that health authorities should vote on whether he's well. The accompanying article criticizes railroad companies—specifically the New Haven Railroad—for blaming engineers for accidents rather than implementing proper safety precautions. The article argues that if employees are killed in accidents, the company bears responsibility. The satirical point: institutions avoid accountability by scapegoating workers instead of taking preventive measures. This reflects Progressive Era concerns about worker safety and corporate negligence.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE DAY'S WORK Precautions Needed I" seems a great pity, when our rail- roads have accidents, that they should not take the proper precautions to keep alive the people upon whom can be fastened the blame, For many years the New Haven Railroad, whenever it had an occasional accident, always blamed it on the engi- neer. Yet upon the last occasion the engineer was killed. If the idea ex- tends and whenever accidents occur the employees of the road are to be killed, along with the passengers, why, in the course of time it may become necessary to blame the accident upon the management of the road, That this possibility still lies in the remote future is no reason why proper pre- cautions should not be taken to guard against it. “BUT, DOCTOR, I NEVER FELT BETTER IN MY LIFE.” “THAT, SIR, IS A MATTER FOR THE HEALTH AUTHORITIES TO VOTE UPON. OTHING costs a nation so much THE LAW ASSUMES EVERY MAN TO BE SICK UNTIL PRONOUNCED WELL,” as its liberty, comicbooks.com