Life, 1918-12-26 · page 6 of 35
Life — December 26, 1918 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **an advertisement, not satire or political commentary**. It's a 1920s safety ad for Weed Tire Chains by American Chain Company, Inc. The dramatic illustration shows an automobile nearly striking children in the rain—a scenario designed to shock viewers into recognizing tire chains' safety value. The ad's rhetoric exploits parental fear: "When Your Heart's in Your Mouth" appeals to emotion, arguing that tire chains provide essential braking power on wet, slippery roads. The text emphasizes that chains are "unquestionably the most effective supplementary addition to brake power when roads and pavements are wet and slippery." This represents early automobile safety advertising, using fear-based messaging to promote a practical product before modern tire technology made chains obsolete.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
= - os , —_ When Your Heart sin ‘Your Mouth- Then is when Tire Chains prove their Real value—they add so much to: your brake power. Without them brakes would be useless. It's these unexpected emergencies that make a driver think quick and act like lightning. When suddenly the children dash out from the pavement and are almdst under your wheels before you realize it—you instinctively jam down your foot-brake and frantically grab the emergency. What if your brakes slipped and didn't hold? Wouldn't the consequences be awful? It’s positively criminal for a driver of a motor car to overlook even the slightest safety precaution. Unquestionably the most effective supplementary addition to brake power when the roads and pavements are wet and slippery, is in the use of WEED TIRE CHAINS a witli cKatibse tivee-da wet prenarll . Wer rubber sine never grips, Tetides le a cake of soap on Care with chatalese tires on. wetrereasy- slippery pe vemenss ened hands, It lacks the bite and hang-on abilit pon lack brake power to the same degree as they would if their brake Goud brakes ond Weed Tite Chane ue ee: ik ie i ood brakes and Weed Tire Chains are undoubtedly the greatest linings were made of wet-greasy-slippery bands of rubber. ieceat in preventing maccor acckdcnts: doubredly the great It’s the height of folly to even attempt to drive without chains on all four tires when the roads are slippery and uncertain. AMERICAN CHAIN COMPANY, 1 INC. BRIDGEPORT \e/ CONNECTICUT In Canada: Dominion Chain Company, Limited, Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada Largest Chain Manufacturers in the World The Complete Chain Line—all types, all sizes, all finishes—from plumbers’ safety chain to ships’ anchor chain. Heomicbooks*c ont ‘| aememeememameemmene