Life — February 13, 1919 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine Cartoon Analysis This is a satirical cartoon from *Life* magazine depicting two well-dressed men in conversation. The man on the left, gesturing animatedly, proposes a financial scheme to the seated man: "If I could get someone to invest a thousand dollars in that scheme I could make some money." The seated man responds: "How much would you make?" The first man answers: "Why, a thousand dollars." The satire mocks a common con scheme or dubious investment pitch of the era—the proposer's plan is simply to pocket the investor's money rather than generate actual returns. The joke exposes the transparent self-interest behind such pitches: the "scheme" exists purely to enrich the schemer at the investor's expense, with no legitimate business purpose.