Life, 1916-08-03 · page 24 of 38
Life — August 3, 1916 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon (top):** A satirical attack on sensationalist public health messaging. Street hustlers promote "Infantile Paralysis!" as a disease spectacle, using fear-mongering language ("HUNDREDS DYING!" "YOU'RE NEXT!!") to attract attention—treating a genuine health crisis as entertainment. The skull-faced figure and carnival-barker style mock the irresponsible dramatization of polio, which was a real and serious threat at the time. The caption critiques this approach, arguing such publicity spreads panic rather than preventing disease. **The Text Section:** Satirizes newspaper consolidations then occurring in American media. The author mocks the merger trend, suggesting most consolidations are unnecessary. The passage then sarcastically "recommends" that progressive figures like Amos Pinchot merge with other publications or organizations—implying they're struggling and need strengthening through combination. This is social/political satire rather than straight news commentary. **"Long Live the Nine"** (photograph): Unclear without additional context, likely referencing a specific group or organization of that era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
YOU ¢AN GET iT Fi AUNDREDS pyine! YOURE NEXT J] OM ANY THine 19 Ry Consolidations apers report that the A/asses has consolidated with Review and will sell for fifteen cents. No doubt this is a wise move. We don’t know the New Re- , but if it is like the Masses, one is plenty, and if it is ¢ the Masses it may impart to that journal something that it needs. Consolidation scems popular; Harper's Weekly and the Independent, the Sun and the Press, and now the Masses and the New Review. Let this good work proceed. Who will come forward now and be consolidated with Amos Pinchot? So far as appears, Amos, as a vehicle of public opinion, is now going it quite alone in the world. He shows signs of needing to be merged with some other source of light and reformation. Would Bainbridge Colby be the right combination for Amos, or is Bainbridge now too much connected with the popular W. Wilson organization to be available? It scems a rare opportunity for the right party to consolidate with a going and articulate ethical concern of unusually sound fiscal standing. “LONG LIVE THE NINE” icbhooks.com