Life, 1918-04-11 · page 34 of 44
Life — April 11, 1918 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes **expert disagreement across multiple fields**. The main article, "When Doctors Disagree," mocks how authorities contradict each other: - **M.D.'s (Medical Doctors)**: reverse advice on diet and air quality - **A.D.'s (Automobile Doctors)**: give opposite guidance on tire pressure and spark plugs - **W.D.'s (Woman Doctors)**: debate women's economic role and voting rights - **Other specialists** (N.D.'s on novels, T.D.'s on theater, S.D.'s on saloons, etc.): all dispute fundamental principles The satirical point: with experts perpetually contradicting each other, ordinary people ("the plain man") must simply decide for themselves rather than defer to authority. The cartoon at bottom shows a man oblivious to sirens because he's absorbed in reading *Life* magazine—a self-promotional joke suggesting the magazine itself is worth more attention than external distractions. The page is otherwise dominated by period product advertisements (Listerine, Stromberg carburetors, Allen's Foot-Ease).
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
When Doctors Disagree F course there are the M.D.’s.. They used to tell me not to drink at meals, and now they say I can drink all I want to, The whole-wheat bread; now white brea back in favor. They used to talk about poisoning the air by breathing it over nd over; now they say the unt of carbon dioxide we can pump into the air of a room over s negligible. And d to advise only on. But there are other doctors that dis- —mailed. on request.’ Manofactured gnly. by" - Lambert Pharmacal.Company \) St Louis, Mo., U.S. A. LTO AU HUT UOLLLEEL ‘Not Using As Much Gas Now Same old story—voiced by thousands of Stromberg users. On old car or new—high priced or low—the new Stromberg Carburetor cuts deep into fuel costs. The tremendous savings it has made and is making for all Stromberg users it will make for you. Our Free Literature will prove that. Write for it. Give name, model and year of your car. STROMBERG MOTOR DEVICES CO. 64 E. 25th Street, Dept. 412, Chicago, Ilinoi New Paired Does it! \ A AAAI KING agree. There are the A.D.’s—antomobile doctors, Says one : “ Don't strain your tires by air pressure.” Says another: “ Make ‘them tight, or you'll have rim cuts.” one: “Keep the sparker high.’ another: “Keep her low.” Says Safety first; turn out promptly.’ Says another: “Teach the road-hog a lesson; don’t turn out till the last in- stant.” And so on. Then there are the W.D.'s, the authori- ties on the woman question. Some urge: “The extravagance of women is at the bottom of all our social troubles.? Others insist: “Give the purse into woman's hands; she is a born economist.” Some assert that women should vote, because of their purity of character; others, that they should not vote, because they would follow the evil ways of their husbands. Some favor opposition to the absurdity and indecency of fashion. Others de- clare that women are the best judges of what is proper and beautiful. And so on. ‘There are the N.D.'s, with precisely opposite views of the tendencies of the modern novel; and the T.D.'s, with con- trary opinions regarding the theatre, and how to uplift it; and the S.D.'s, with MAKING FRIENOS, CARBURETOR diverse notions concerning saloons, and their improvement or abolition; and the D's, with frantically clashing ideas pout finance; and similarly there are ting doctors in every human sphere, Iy it any wonder that in this pande- monium of authorities the plain man has just about conchided to decide for him- self? Amos RK. Wells. T wus not stopping his cars that made Ui ‘Ss immune to the song of the sirens. He had just received the copy of Lire, to which he was a regu- lar subscriber, and was so immersed in it that he never heard them, ALLENS FOOT-EASE The Antiseptic Powder to Shake Into Your Shoes And sprinkle in the Foot-Bath, One wat, relief committee reports, that of all the} things sent out in their Comfort Bags, or “Kits,” Allen's FooteEase received} | ) the most'praise from the American, British and Fre use It, because it takes the Frictioa| from the shoe and freshens the fect. The Plattsburg a aul add men in train! their shoes each morning. Why not or der a dozen packages to-day to mail to} your soldier friends in training camps}| and inthearmy and na Sold by Drug- gists and Dept. stores ¢ FREE trial package sent by mail, Ad: Seas oie a ress, Allen S, Olmsted, Le Roy, N.Y. Quick Relief for Husky, Hoarse, Tickling Throats 2Bc at all Drug Stores Sample for two-cent stamp Frederick Stearns & Compan; - Detroit, U.S.A. comicbooks gia