Life, 1918-10-10 · page 5 of 33
Life — October 10, 1918 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is primarily **advertising, not satire or editorial content**. The page promotes Timken Roller Bearings for vehicles. The headline "Keeping Power on the Job" uses a double meaning: bearings literally keep mechanical power flowing, while metaphorically suggesting reliability during work. The illustration shows a truck being towed by a car, suggesting that proper bearings prevent breakdowns. The text argues that bearings do more than reduce friction—they must support transmissions, gears, and rear-axle mechanisms under heavy loads. Timken bearings supposedly resist "end-thrust" pressure and require minimal adjustment. The small bearing photograph demonstrates the product itself. This is a straightforward industrial advertisement from the early-to-mid 20th century, aimed at truck owners concerned with equipment longevity and repair costs. No political commentary or satire is present.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
a 04.) truck owners think that the only big job of any bearing is to reduce friction und to stand up under hard service with- cat wearing out and needing repair or replacement. This is, of course, vitally important, but «qually so is the job which bearings in any motor car, truck or tractor have to é in keeping other working parts oper- ating as they should—the wheels turning he transmission gears properly in 1 the rear axle driving-mechanism pulling its load. It’s up to the bearings not only to keep power flowing smoothly all the way from engine to wheels, but to keep the impor- tant power transmitting units from wearing out and costing you money for replace- ment. The better the bearings the smoother the operation and the lower the costs. Timken Bearings are especially fitted for this difficult service because the Tim- ken Taper resists the destructive side- pressure (or “end-thrust”’) as easily as it carries the heaviest direct load, and, more- over, allows wear to be taken up when looseness becomes apparent, Timken Bearings wear as little as any other bear- ing before adjustment is needed, and can be made practically new at any time by a part turn of a wrench or removal of a shim, Write for the booklet ‘*The Com- panies Timken Keeps” and sce who's using Timken Bearings. THE = TIMKEN ROLLER BEARING CO, Y Canton, Ohio TIMKEN BEARINGS FOR MOTOR CAR. TRUCK & TRACTOR comicbooks.com