Life, 1916-07-20 · page 15 of 44
Life — July 20, 1916 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon:** This satirical cartoon depicts a social gathering where a magistrate (identified by his judicial appearance) sits at a table while well-dressed men in suits converse around him. The caption reads: "I GIVE THAT LAWYER TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR TO KEEP ME OUT OF JAIL. 'OH, JOHN! PLEASE STOP SPENDING YOUR MONEY SO FOOLISHLY.'" **The Satire:** The joke mocks the hypocrisy of wealthy individuals who maintain expensive lawyers to protect them from legal consequences, while their spouses criticize their extravagant spending. It satirizes the notion that the wealthy can essentially "buy" legal immunity through retainer fees—a pointed commentary on class-based justice where money determines legal protection. **Social Context:** This reflects turn-of-the-century concerns about wealthy elites operating above the law through legal maneuvering and financial means.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Magnate: 1 GIVE THAT LAWYER TEN THOUSAND DOLLARS A YEAR TO KEEP ME OUT OF JAIL. “OH, JOHN! PLEASE STOP SPENDING YOUR MONEY SO FOOLISHLY.” Emotions MOTIONS are what you have when you are all stirred up; for example, when you are in love or when a note which you had previously forgotten suddenly falls due. Also, when you think you are writing poetry, and when you are leading one who is practically a total Stranger up to an altar, where, by previous arrangement and design you have stationed a gentleman with power to cause you more future trouble than you have ever dreamed of. Science tells us that something cannot come out of nothing, yet emotions seem to do this. A calm, placid lady whom you have known and trusted for years will suddenly have emotions which will create an area of disturbance ex- tending for miles in all directions. Emotions are felt but not seen. If you could see an emotion coming with the naked eye, you might be able to avoid it. Some men can thus avoid emotions when they see their wives coming, but not when they have emotions themselves. Emotions are of various kinds and are variously ex- pressed; a New York policeman expresses his with a club, and every dog with the end of his tail. comicbooks.com