Life, 1917-05-17 · page 15 of 35
Life — May 17, 1917 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top illustration titled "Extravaganza: The Gorgon's New Fountain" depicts a chaotic scene of elaborately dressed women around a central figure playing a harp, with money (indicated by dollar signs) flowing like water from a fountain. The article "The Real Value of Cures" satirizes society's obsession with medical treatments and remedies. It argues that the proliferation of cures—for ailments both serious and trivial—has created an entire industry of "doctors with treatments" and "breathing experts." The satire suggests people are unnecessarily spending money on questionable remedies simply because cures exist, and that this endless cycle of seeking cures provides artificial employment and entertainment rather than genuine health benefits. The lower cartoon "Fifty-Fifty: Fight or Farm" appears to humorously depict occupational choices.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
EXTRAVAGANZA THE GOTROX’S NEW FOUNTAIN The Real Value of Cures HE world is full of cures. The moment we get any- thing, no matter what it is, someone starts up in our path with a cure. There are doctors with treatments, new thoughters with a system of healing, bone men and muscle men and skin men and breathing experts. You can’t go anywhere without being cured, whether you want to or not The man who isn’t ready to spend good money to be cured of something isn’t considered normal. In view of the fact that as many people are dying as ever died before, perhaps it would be worth while to in- quire what results these cures accomplish. Some of them undoubtedly prolong life a little, but their great benefit is that they furnish a new occupation. What a monotonous world this would be if people kept on having things and there was no cure for them. The excitement and interest in finding a new cure, the hopes raised, the fascinations of the machinery used—all this is a kind of amusement which undoubtedly does much to mitigate the stress of living at all. F' FTY-FIFTY: Fight or farm. “come on!” comicbooks.com