Life, 1917-02-15 · page 41 of 42
Life — February 15, 1917 — page 41: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a **satirical allegory about labor and leisure**. The main narrative depicts "the Great God" (representing Labor or the Working Class) being visited by three figures: 1. **The Goddess of Amusement** — a flashy, painted woman offering cheap entertainment (comic supplements, moving pictures, vaudeville) that the Great God eagerly accepts for Saturday afternoons. 2. **Dame Nature, Beauty, and Art** — three dignified figures offering genuine joy, beauty, and spiritual uplift, whom the Great God rudely rejects. **The satire's point**: Modern industrial society prioritizes cheap, commercial entertainment over genuine cultural enrichment and natural beauty. Workers are manipulated into accepting shallow amusements that keep them complacent rather than pursuing real sources of joy and inspiration. The page also contains **period advertisements** for "Mum" deodorant (targeting women's "daintiness") and Richmond Straight Cut cigarettes, which ironically exemplify the commercial culture the cartoon critiques.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Mum” (as easy to use as to say) for dainty women “Mum” harmlessly removes all odors ofthe body and keeps skin and cloth- ing fresh and sweet from bath to bath. Men use it too. 2Se—sold by 9 out of 10 drug: and department stores. "MUM" MFG CO 1106 Chestnut St Philadelphia you, my friend? This is my first visit. We ought to know each other better.” “Who are you?” he asked solemnly, wiping his grimy brow. “Tam one of your distant relatives, the Goddess of Amusement.” “Ho! What are you doing here?” “I've called upon you to see about turning your toiling masses over to me for a day or so, I’m employed by a commercial syndicate. The masses need to be allured. It is my business to al- lure them. When you let up on them a little, let me have ‘em.” He leaned upon his pick and gazed at her bright figure duly, “They pay you?” he asked. “Sure!” “What do you give ‘em for their money?” She opened her bag. “Well, here are comic supplements, and moving pictures and vaudeville—very cheap, is vaudeville—and more stunts than you can shake a stick at.” The Great God smiled. His untrained eye, unable to discriminate between the genuine and the unreal, was taken by this glittering lady. “Well, cousin,” he said at last, some- what stiffy—but that was only because he knew no better manners—“I accept your offer, Take my masses once a week, Saturday afternoons and holidays, and just returned from Richmond, ef a genuine Virginia cigarette.” Whenever you grow a little tired of ordinary cigarettes, just send out for a package of old-time Richmond Straight Cuts. They are choice. The refined delicacy of their fine, old Virginia tobacco offers an agreeable change. Richmond Strai Cat CIGARETTES Plain oF Cork Tip 15 Cents Also in attractive tins, 50 for 40 cents; 100 for 75 cents. Seat prepaid if your dealer cannot supply you. @e BILTMORE 43rd and 44th Streets and Madison Avenue The center of social life at TEA TIME Ideally convenient for «suburban dwellers \ some nights too, and give ‘em a good time. Now I must get back to work.” “ Thanks!” She kissed him on his blackened cheek. He did not notice that her own faee was painted, or the leer in her eyes. She rushed out and vanished. The God worked on. But when he looked up again—what was it he saw? In the doorway stood three stately fig- ures. They beckoned to him, asking ad- mission. They were supremely beautiful, but they did not appeal to his eye like the flashy figure that had just disap- peared. He strode angrily out. “Look here!” he growled, “I can't have visitors constantly interrupting me in my work. How can I keep the masses of the people ground down if anybody can come here? What do you want?” “We have come to aid you. We have no motive except love of humanity. We do not want to take your minions too much away from their toil, but only enough to give them a sincere joy, to fill them with pure air and genuine pleasure, an increasing sense of beauty ‘and grace, and develop their senses so that they may get from us real inspiration for their work.” “Who are you?” “Tam known as Dame Nature. And this is Beauty. And this is Art.” The Great God waved his muscle- bound arms, “Go on away from here,” he said, “IT haven't got time for you. I've made other arrangements. Go on now!” comicbooks.com