Life, 1917-03-01 · page 11 of 42
Life — March 1, 1917 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts a hotel clerk dealing with a group of travelers concerned about fire safety. The caption reads: "Is this hotel thoroughly fire-proof, sir? But if you should ever take fire we wouldn't guarantee anything." This satirizes unsafe hotel conditions and the clerk's absurd non-answer—he won't even guarantee safety *if* a fire occurs. This reflects genuine early-20th-century concerns about hotel fires, which were serious hazards. The accompanying article "Faithful in Adversity" discusses Professor John W. Burgess, a pro-German academic who maintained his German sympathies despite World War I. It mocks his unwavering loyalty despite geopolitical circumstances. The left column lists Broadway stereotypes ("Glitter," "Chorus girls," "Debutantes") in a satirical summary of theatrical culture.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Impressions of Broadway By One Who Has Never Seen It Limousines. Chorus girls. Gilded youths. Skyscrapers. Bright lights. Gunmen. Debutantes. Shops. Spenders. Provincials. Rubberneck busses. Midnight frolics. Brokers. Beggars. Glitter. Extravagance. Hurry. Chinless chappies. Vulgarity. Fat policemen. Gamblers. Grafters. Heartlessness. Liveried lackeys. Subways. Electricity. Strained faces. Proprietary Hebrews. Otis C. Little. Mr. J. Bacchus Barleycorn: 18 THIS HOTEL THOROUGHLY FIRE-PROOF, YOUNG MAN “YES, SIR, BUT 1F YOU SHOULD EVER TAKE FIRE WE WOULDN'T GUARANTEE ANYTHING,” Faithful in Adversity ROFESSOR JOHN W. BURGESS of Newport, who declared in a long discourse in Hearst's American on gist that “ Britain Bars Peace to Dominate World is the same faithful pro-German he has been since the beginning of the war. He has had no new light. He was Roosevelt professor to Berlin in 1906 and_ visiting American professor to Austrian uni ities in 1914. He has been decorated by the German Emperor and by the King of Saxony, and well deserves these embellishments, “IT’S outrageous,” heatedly declared the fat banker, in the observation car, “this thing of trying to hold a bank- rupt corporation's officers responsible for its losses.” “Yes,” agreed his chance acquaintance. ‘Next thiog we know it will be a penitentiary offense for the board of directors to loot a railroad.” comicbooks.com