Life, 1917-05-03 · page 38 of 42
Life — May 3, 1917 — page 38: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks a businessman's attempt to create a college based purely on business principles. The unnamed founder argues that traditional colleges waste resources on gymnasiums, athletic fields, and social spaces where employees "get drunk and raise particular hell." Instead, he establishes his college with 9-to-5 office hours, paying professors like salaried clerks, and demanding students "produce results"—treating education as a profit-driven enterprise rather than intellectual development. The satire targets the early 20th-century tension between practical, vocational education and liberal arts. Life magazine ridicules this utilitarian approach, suggesting that reducing college to mere job training ignores the broader purpose of education: developing well-rounded citizens rather than mere cogs in a business machine. The joke is that this "successful" businessman fundamentally misunderstands what education should be.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The New College tr having been determined that no- body was getting anything out of a college education which was of the slightest value, it occurred to one man to start a new college. It was necessary that one man should do this, because if there had been two they would have disagreed. This man had peculiar ideas. He said: “I have been a successful busi- ness man for many years, having worked early and late to build up my business to its present large dimen- sions, I have a considerable force of clerks, many of whom are happily married, and others who are a part of the system I have created. They are all happy; they are all as contented as it is possible for human beings to be contented who have virtuous aspira- tions and no abnormal ambitions. And the singular part of this whole matter is that there is no gymnasium or ath- letic field attached to my business. Neither is there the juxtaposition of dancing halls or places where my em- ployees can go out, play poker, get drunk and raise particular hell, There- fore I will start my college on the basis of my business.” And so the man started his college. The office hours were from nine till five. The professors were paid all the Foils Car Thieves Even Arsene Lupin himself, master criminal, would not attempt to steal a car protected by Powersteel Autowlock This four-foot length of waterproofed Yellow Strand Wire Rope spells safety- from-theft for auto owners. There's an eye in each end, and a strong brass lock to lock the ends together. Just fasten one Powersteel Autowlock around wheel and spring; another around spare tire and rack—then, your car and tire are both safe. If Powersteel Autowlock is part of your equipment, some insurance companies reduce their rates 10% Price, east of Rockies, $2.25, Bastiwe Avrowtine, the original wire rope towline, gets you home when stalled. Price, east of Rockies, $4.55. Buy from’ your Accessory Dealer, Literature om request. BRODERICK & BASCOM ROPE CO. St. Louis—New York Manufacturers of celebrated Yellow Strond Wire Rope For over forty years, Tt. & Tt. Wire Ropes have made good on the biggest jobs Prepared for you by our chef from the Paris Ritz Napoleon Once Said: ““A Footsore Army Is An Army Half Defeated.’’ In every community men are drilling for Na- tional Preparedness. For all_these men the fre- quent use of ALLEN’S FOOT=EASE, the antiseptic powder, shaken into the Shoes and sprinkled in the Foot-bath, increases their effi- ciency and insures needed physical comfort. It takes the friction from the shoe and rests the feet. The troops on the Mexican Border use Allen's Foot=Ease, and over 100,000 Packages have been used by the British and French troops in Europe. We will mail FREE packages to any} soldier’s address upon request. Address, Allen S.} Olmsted, Le Roy, N. Y. This English Inn has won a place in the heat people everywhere through just the right comb ice, homelike informality and true Southern hospitality. The “Land of the Sky” is glorious now in full Spring bloom. Perfect Golf in a Perfect Climate—Alll Sports in Perfection Write for Booklet S. Make Reservation IN AMERICA — AN ENGLISH INN Albemarle Park Tho Manor Asherille, N.C. of cultivated jon of serv THE SPARTAN YOUTH way from ten to twenty thousand dol- lars a year each. There were few of them, but they knew their jobs from the ground up. The buildings were built for business purposes. The stu- dents had to produce results. The man said: “The object of the ordinary college is to instill into the student just enough important infor- mation about any particular subject, so that he will be convinced that he knows enough about it without having to learn any more later on. In my college I will change this. It will be self-sub- sisting mentally. There will be no course of reading arranged for by a lot of half-baked people- who are barnacled with fads, but the students themselves will create their own jthey just make the best of it-and callit ¥ White Horse Pei. sxc comicbooks.com