Life, 1916-12-14 · page 15 of 42
Life — December 14, 1916 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical commentary on editorial practices and social issues: **"Ideas and Success"** critiques magazines that strip ideas of originality. The "recipe" lists components like plagiarism, noise, and flattery—suggesting publications manufacture bland content through formula rather than genuine thought. The warning to editors to "guard the editorial door against all original notions" is tongue-in-cheek criticism of risk-averse publishing. **"Great Americans"** photograph shows Miss Prudence B. Blodge receiving a guardianship appointment, likely satirizing nepotism or arbitrary wealth management among the privileged classes. **"Both Considerate"** and **"Monotonous"** are brief humorous dialogues about belief in Santa Claus and socialist uniformity, respectively—typical period satire on parenting, childhood, and political ideology.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ideas and Success 'HERE is nothing so fatal to suc- cess as ideas. Once they are permitted to crop up in the course of business, unpopularity sets in, dividends fall off, gate receipts vanish. Ideas on the stage mean a vacuum at the box- office. Ideas in the pulpit mean an unemployed clergy. Ideas on the Stock Exchange mean panic. For those who would assure themselves of success, the following recipe has been compiled : 10% Plagiarism. 10% Noise. 10% Flattery of the Unintelligent Public. 10% Immorality. 10% Underpayment of Employees. 10% Worship of Banality. 10% Preaching the Obvious. 10% Subscription to Charity.* 10% Essence of Chicanery. 10% Stern Avoidance of Ideas 100% Success. Many of our most prominent maga- zines have followed this recipe to great advantage. The main thing is to crush out ideas. In order to do this the ordinary magazine employs bright young men, who, being equipped with a costly college education, are pecu- liarly fitted to guard the editorial door against all original notions These young men do their tasks very effi- ciently, dine well and die happy. Not more than once or twice a decade do they permit an idea to slip by them. The presence of an idea in the reading columns, however, may be detected at once by a falling off in advertising. Thus the idea may be caught and killed before any extensive damage is done. Editors who wish to succeed, regard- less, are hereby warned against all ideas, Dz B. GREAT AMERICANS MISS PRUDENCE B, BLODE, WHOSE EXTRAVAGANCE HAS RESULTED IN THE APPOINT MENT OF A GUARDIAN FOR HER ESTATE *Comes under the general head of Advertising. Both Considerate “ALY wife wants our boy to believe in Santa Claus. fact that under the forthcoming socialistic regime we Monotonous HE harassed purchaser of Christmas necessities and superfluities may derive some consolation from the Says it’s a harmless illusion for the child.” shall all give and receive uniform presents, romp uniform- “And the kid?” ly around uniform Christmas trees, eat uniform Christmas “He wants his mother to believe that he believes in puddings, and, if the system is as perfect as prophesied, Santa Claus. Says it's a harmless illusion.” suffer uniform headaches. comicbooks.com