Life, 1917-02-08 · page 18 of 42
Life — February 8, 1917 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains multiple satirical pieces critiquing early 20th-century American society: **Top cartoon**: A dialogue mocking hereditary criminality. A "highway robber" is deemed unreformable because his mother was a fashionable milliner and father a corporation lawyer—suggesting criminal tendencies run in "bad blood," while ironically implying respectable professions themselves breed corruption. **"The Home and the Office"**: Satirizes the disparity between luxurious modern offices (with art, rugs, climate control, servants, refreshments) and neglected homes. The piece argues homes should receive equal investment, critiquing how industrialized businessmen prioritize workplace comfort over domestic life. **"True Efficiency"**: Mocks New York trolley operators for achieving massive profits while providing minimal service—defining their "efficiency" as financial exploitation rather than actual operational excellence. **"A Difference in Treatment"**: A sentimental anecdote contrasting a doctor's compassion for an injured dog versus implied indifference toward human patients, particularly poor ones—possibly referencing Rockefeller institutions' reputation for exploitative medical experiments.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
m7 7 tau K NIX. A HIGHWAY ROBBER, EH? 1S THERE ANY HOPE OF HIS REFORMING? IT's IN THE BLOOD. HIS MOTHER WAS A PASH'NABLE MILLI- Us NER, AN’ HIS PATHE? WAS A CORPORATION LAWYER. The Home and the Office HY not make our homes as at- tractive as our offices? The mod- ern high class business man is rapidly developing into a luxurious creature. He has on his office walls beautiful pictures, and under his feet soft and costly rugs. His neutral color schemes are joyful to the eye, his furniture is the highest type of combined beauty and efficiency, and his lighting system is the last word in science. “Anything he wants is immediately at his dis- posal, whether it be polish for his boots, the latest periodical, a book of reference or a buffet luncheon. The air is cooled for him in summer. Mes- sengers wait upon him. There is no friction, no disputing. He presses a button and his lightest word is taken down and recorded. At the luncheon hour he has a choice of the most highly diversified companions. Contrast this ideal condition with that of the place called home, filled with fossilized furniture, and almost denuded of servants. Let not the home be destroyed. Let it be placed upon an equality with the modern office. Tre Efficiency ‘OR a noteworthy example of real twentieth-century efficiency, let us contemplate the New York surface lines for a brief, reverent moment. Has there ever before within the knowledge of man been a period when financiers and trolley magnates have succeeded in making such huge profits upon such a slender outlay for service and equipment? A Difference in Treatment A forlorn little fox terrier limped up the driveway to the General Hos- pital, holding one paw from the ground. Unobserved he followed the orderlies as they carried an injured man into the receiving ward. It was not until Dr. J. C. Lynch had finished treating his patient that he heard a whining and a whimper- ing sound at his feet. The little dog, holding up a badly crushed fore paw, was looking ap- pealingly up at the doctor. Pathetic brown eyes seemed trying to explain something. Dr. Lynch took charge of the ca- nine patient, anointing the injured foot and bandaging it with care. And after a grateful lick at the doc- tor’s shoes the fox terrier limped away. —Grand Rapids Evening Press. UCKY dog! Had he entered by mistake 2 Rockefeller institution he might have had the other three feet crushed as an interesting experiment in “ shock.” From the Kaiser's Unabridged EACE, n. A condition which af- fords one an opportunity for get- ting his second wind. Yee yf / WHILE PRICES ARE SO HIGH BUY LESS OF EVERYTHING comicbooks.com