Life, 1919-05-22 · page 4 of 42
Life — May 22, 1919 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This appears to be a **subscription appeal** rather than political satire. The cartoon shows a man at a desk (likely representing Life magazine's publisher or editor) speaking with a smaller figure, captioned "Please, Mr. President." The accompanying text addresses **wartime economics**: Life's circulation doubled during the past year, but production costs also doubled. Rather than raise prices, Life is keeping subscription rates stable at $5 yearly—the same price for thirty-six years—to maintain faith with readers. The "President" reference likely addresses the U.S. government or the magazine's leadership, appealing for understanding about economic pressures during what appears to be **WWI era** (note the reference to soldiers and sailors overseas). This is essentially a **business plea disguised as editorial commentary**, asking readers to subscribe to support the magazine during inflationary times.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Please. Mr. President’ Are we suffering? Certainly But the price of Lire remains the same. Why is thi: Lire’s circulation has practically doubled during the pas could therefore—if we so desired—raise the price and risk the loss of a certain percentage of our circulation, and still be ahead. We don't do it, because we believe that, in the long run, it is better to keep faith with our readers than it is to take advantage of them. In many cases the mechanical cost of production has doubled. In some cases it has trebled. But Lire is an American institution, and we feel very strongly that, in spite of decreased profits, Lire should go to the greatest number of readers possible. We take infinite pains in the production of Lire. Every number is the subject of special care. In spite of Burleson, Lire not only sells on the news-stands at the same price it has been sold at for thirty-six years, but the subscription price also remains the same. And this is important. Are you a regular subscriber? Why not obey that impulse and become one? Subscribe for a soldier or sailor, What is better, when one is overseas, than a real home paper? There are a million men all like Lire, To A. E. F. men Lire is $5 a year, if no local foreign address be given. over there still, and they a ° Open. only to new subscribers; 00 s0> scriptions renewed at this rate. rd if LIFE, 17 West 31st Street, New York. OH +” One Year, $5.00. (Canadian, $5.52; Foreign, $6.04.) comicbooks.com