Life, 1916-09-21 · page 12 of 44
Life — September 21, 1916 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes contemporary public figures' false predictions and misleading statements. The article references several named individuals—Colonel [unnamed], Professor Scott-Nearing, Miss Jane Addams, Mr. Munsey, Mr. Bryan, Mr. Edison, and Judge Gary—who made inaccurate claims about war preparedness, newspaper control, European soldiers' alcohol consumption, weather, Philippine policy, and cancer cures. The photograph below, captioned "Mrs. Octave Schwindles, Who Won a Cool Thirty Thousand at Bridge Last Season," appears to mockingly illustrate "Great Americans"—likely satirizing wealth and social status among the upper class. The overall piece critiques how influential public figures spread misinformation, questioning which "lies" deserve remembering and whether such statements represent worth celebrating.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Best Lies NUMBER of enterprising literary workers are engaged in the doubtful occupation of trying to discover what are the best short stories of the past ycar. To do this they are compelled to read a vast amount of material. Their verdict is superfluous because useless. It means nothing to anyone but themselves. What we really would like to know, however, is what are the best lies of the past year. This is the kind of fiction a knowledge of which would help us most. To be able to form a more or less scientific knowledge of the past, to be able to tell a good future lie when we see it coming, would be a most valuable t. Mr. Bryan said that in case of war a million men would spring into arms over- night. Professor Scott-Nearing said the newspapers, almost without exception, wouldn't print articles against prepara- tion, because they were controlled. Miss Jane Addams said something about Euro- pean soldiers being over-controlled by alcohol. Mr. Munsey said the Sun was going to be full of “pep "—just as if the ghost of Mr. Dana would ever permit a thing like that to happen! The weather man told us, upon at least one occasion, that it was going to rain, and it didn’t rain, and that the sun was going to shine, and it simply poured Our beloved Colonel said a number of things. Somebody said the Philippines were well governed, and others said not, Which was right? Judge Gary said the war would end shortly—that was a long time ago. Mr. Edison told us we could all thrive on two or three hours of sleep a night. A great many doctors told us they had a cure for cancer. Are these among the best lies, worthy to be placed upon the honor roll? If not, which ones are? Let us at least know when we are telling lies that are really worth while. GREAT AMERICANS MRS, OCTAVE SCHWINDLER, WHO WON A COOL THIRTY THOUSAND AT BRIDGE LAST SEASON