Life, 1916-05-04 · page 4 of 52
Life — May 4, 1916 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising copy** for an automobile, not political satire. The headline "There Are Go and Gumption in this Long-" refers to a car model (likely a Chalmers, mentioned in the text). The text promotes the vehicle's performance specifications: its 3400 RPM engine capacity, fuel economy, safety features, and ability to reach 80 miles per hour. The advertisement emphasizes practical virtues—"go and gumption"—appealing to buyers seeking reliable, economical transportation. The small illustration at top appears to be a simple line drawing of the car itself. There is no political cartoon or social satire present on this page; it's a straightforward early automotive advertisement, likely from the 1910s-1920s era based on the styling and performance metrics cited.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
There Are Go and Gumption in this Long- Autocrat of hill and highway, her generous delivery of values has vitalized the sum of $1090 into undreamed-of buying power. She has, sensibly, not used the speedway as a peg to hang her records of performance upon. What a tuned-up, pampered, specially geared, professionally driven car will do on the track bears but far-fetched relation to what its stock-car cousin will do in the average driver’s hands. The mad racing energy that her engine would readily have developed has been held in prudent restraint. For what shall it profit a motorist if he gains a world of super-speed and loses the greater boon of fuel-economy, obedience, and sparkling pick-up? The record of this able 3400 r. p. m, Chalmers in the hands of Tom, Dick, and Hank is the thing that won the hearts and respect of buyers. Her spirited pick-up, tire-thrift, fuel-economy, riding comfort, and ease of driving have proved 100 per cent satisfactory, whether in Chicago, Chihuahua, or Chile. The absolute safety with which her engine attains $400 revo- lutions per minute insures an unparalleled margin between your ordinary requirements and her safe limit of capacity. At 10 miles an hour she calls upon her engine for only 500 r.p.m., or 16 per cent of her power. At 20 miles an hour she needs to exert only 33 per cent of her strength. She delivers 30 miles an hour with only 1500 r. p.m. At all normal driving comicbooks.com