Life, 1916-04-13 · page 31 of 46
Life — April 13, 1916 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Main Cartoon:** "Figures of Speech" depicts a wealthy millionaire surrounded by his wife and daughters—all wrapped in blankets—complaining they have nothing to wear. The satire mocks the absurd complaints of the ultra-rich: despite obvious material excess, they perform poverty to justify more spending. This targets the disconnect between millionaires' actual wealth and their theatrical displays of need. **The "Epitaph":** A biting commentary on American foreign policy, portraying the nation as an "American Eagle" that has died from "chronic indecision." This likely references early 20th-century isolationism or hesitation regarding international military involvement—the bird once fierce and visionary has become "oddly tame." **The "Allegro":** A humorous piece about early talking pictures (talkies), satirizing their rapid, overlapping dialogue that audiences struggled to follow. The servant Ferguson delivers rapid-fire instructions in nearly unintelligible speech, mirroring the incomprehensible chatter audiences experienced in early sound films.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
<LL MMi FIGURES OF SPEECH (Wife and daughters of millionaire, wrapped in blankets, are talking to father) “REALLY, ALONZO, THE GIRLS AND I HAVEN'T A THING TO WEAR” Epitaph HERE lies the American Eagle, poor bird, Of whom you've undoubtedly often heard Indeed, for strength, pugnacity and far vision, The unfortunate creature enjoyed a fame That was international in times past; But, sorry to state, towards the last, This erstwhile warrior became oddly tame. The cause of death was chronic indecision. R. I. P. Edmund J. Kiefer. Allegro “CHAT 'SallFerguson! 'llringiflwantyouagain.” Yessirthankyousirshalll sayyouarcoutifanyonecalls cllthemIamoutofthecityandFerguson.” “Havetheautoreadyforanearlyruninthemorning.Havea. largebunchoforchidsinthevaseFerguson.” “Yessiranythingelsesir ?” “NothingelseFerguson.” Readeritisonlytheconversationinatalkingmovieshowtrying tokeepupwiththepictures. comicbooks.com