Life, 1917-03-29 · page 17 of 42
Life — March 29, 1917 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page combines social commentary with period advertisements (circa 1920s-1930s). **Main Articles:** "A Song of Expense" satirizes middle-class financial anxiety—the endless drain of bills for household necessities and luxuries that leave nothing to show for one's earnings. "The Cure for the City" argues that rural residents are drawn to cities by false glamour, while city dwellers seek the country for genuine fulfillment. The solution: both should visit each other regularly in moderation to see reality clearly. "Government by Pipe-dream" uses ironic language to critique Americans' overconfidence in their own judgment. It humorously suggests we should trust Providence more and acknowledge our incompetence rather than assuming we're "right about half the time." **Advertisements** feature humorous fake products: an "uneasy chair" that bruises you, a diamond ring to keep engagements secret, and a night lamp for cellar stairs—all satirizing contemporary consumer culture and anxieties. The overall tone mocks both urban temptation and small-town naïveté, while poking fun at American self-reliance and consumerism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Song of Expense NG a song of expense, A pocketful of bills. Four and twenty tradesmen, All with yawning tills. When your checkbook opens, Your balance quickly wanes. What a meagre sum is left To show for all your pains! Hats and gowns and groceries, Furniture and rugs, Coal and ice and underwear, Toilet things and drugs, Taxes, rent and theatres, Jewelry and potions, Many incidentals and Innumerable “ notions.” E. O. J. The Cure for the City TE thing which is constantly flaunt- ing itself before us and which at the same time we have no opportunity of knowing at first hand, is often a most upsetting tempter. The city con- stantly flaunts itself before the country. It says: “Look at me, with all my yayeties; I am a cosmopolite. I deal fit Many A Bruise Is Born To Buust Unseen ~ The BLACKANBLEW UNEASY CHAIR Upholstered In Imitation Concrete- Overstuffed With Slag And Assorted he Hardware: ry THE CHAIR THAT GIVES NO QUARTER’ ADVERTISEMENTS YOU HAVE LIFE in all the latest and smartest sensa- tions. I am the source of knowledge, the arbiter of manners, the open sesame to the elect.” To the quiet dweller in the country there is no set- ting aside this magnetism. His mind is drawn irresistibly in the direction of the glare, the noise, the vortex of human life. Thus we have the great movement from the farm to the city, to stem which various futile efforts have been made. The cure for the city lies in the city itself. Just as city folk, whenever they can, go to the country in summer for rest and recreation and excitement and that deeper knowledge of themselves which only comes from contact with nature, so country folk should go regu- larly to the city for certain definite periods. When they go now they go too little or too much, They stay just long enough to be fooled by the out- ward glitter, or so long as to be lost to the realities of life. The city, like Give Hee ee ae 519 a vast octopus, grips them and beclouds their vision. Those of us who have tried both by calmly testing them in the light of experience, know that there is more excitement in the country than in the city, more genuine life and fecl- ing and knowledge. Government by Pipe-dream i Rice s much to be said in favor of this system of government Under our present system — which is about half pipe-dream — w> trust our- selves too much. This argues a lack of faith in the higher order of things. By assuming that we are right about half of the time, we give Providence only the other half to work in. This is obviously unfair to Provi- dence. If we are going to get anything out of Providence at all, we certainly ought to go the limit. What has Providence ever done to us that we should treat fairly? Government by pipe-dream, however, means only that we shall acknowledge frankly our complete irresponsibility, and let Providence do the rest. © her so un- DIMGLO NIGHT—LAMP.- “The Lior Tur Rns.~ NEVER SEEN