Life, 1916-05-04 · page 46 of 52
Life — May 4, 1916 — page 46: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising** from circa 1920s, with one political cartoon at the bottom. **The Cartoon:** A mayor or city official confronts a man (likely representing a ferry operator or transportation official) about citizens losing money. The official's response—"I thought your citizens had all been drowned"—is darkly satirical, suggesting a recent **ferry disaster or maritime accident** where many people died. The joke's bitter humor implies that if citizens are dead, they obviously can't lose money, thereby deflecting responsibility for financial losses. Without knowing the specific historical incident referenced, the cartoon appears to be **satirizing official incompetence or negligence** regarding public transportation safety, using grim humor to expose the absurdity of prioritizing financial concerns over the loss of life. The page otherwise features period product advertisements: Mor-Lite electric generators for country homes ($350), Batavia Safety Tires, and Cascade Pure Whisky—typical consumer goods marketed to affluent readers.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Complete Electric Light Plant for your Country House for $350 Extreme simplicity of operation Low cost of operation and maintenance Absolute freedom from trouble Dependable under all conditions Moderate cost of installation Write for Bal- letin LS which tells youall about Mor-Lite electric light plants. These are features of the Mor-Lite in- dividual electric light plant for country homes. Ample current for lighting the average house, garage, etc., and for op- erating any household apparatus, such as vacuum cleaner, sewing machine, electric fans, etc. Costs only about ten cents a day to use. We have larger plants where greater capacity is needed, also smaller and lower priced outfits for bungalows, etc. Raitroaps spend thousands every year test- ing and inspecting their block systems for the traveller's safety. Casualty companies get annual premiums for making sure that the cables on elevators won't break. Nobody pays anybody anything to come around frequently to see that your car carries BATAVIA Security Tires Yet your family's safety and your own safety is a lot more im- portant to you than the safety of passengers is to hired inspectors. Is your car tired— or are you? Try BATAVIAS THE BATAVIA RUBBER CO - BATAVIA - NEW YORK FAIRBANKS, MORSE & COMPANY BOSTON NEW YORK BALTIMORE, 30 Church Street 17 So. Hanover St. (THE best of grain—re-distillation— purification—honest aging in the wood—these are the things that make certain the purity and mellowness of Cascade Pure Whisky. Original Bottling has Old Gold Label. GEO. A. DICKEL & CO., Distillers Nashville, Tenn. SS “SEE HERE, JOHN, MY CITIZENS ARE LOSING MONEY ON ACCOUNT OF you." “ WHY, I THOUGHT YOUR CITIZENS HAD ALL BEEN DROWNED.” comicbooks.com