Life, 1919-06-12 · page 14 of 46
Life — June 12, 1919 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical comic strip mocks Mr. Follie, characterized as "a strong advocate of reciprocity" (a trade policy). The humor centers on Follie sending his cousin George a live alligator from Florida as a "gift," then repeatedly trying to get it back through increasingly absurd excuses and demands. The joke exploits the concept of reciprocity—the idea that if you give someone a gift, they should reciprocate with something of equal value. Follie's escalating desperation to retrieve the alligator (insisting George return something equally valuable) satirizes the absurdity of strict reciprocal trade agreements. The 1861 date suggests this comments on contemporary trade policy debates during the Civil War era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Tero's an Alligator from Florida for Mr Follie with $4.23 excess charges?” “EAL sure is nice of cousin George to t remember me with this pet Alligator!” “Bet it run around with the cat my dear, till L get back!” “Thy Mr. Folliet What on earth d oa, want with a rattle-snake ?” “Br. Snider, have yous Rann ake in stoc healthy raftle-snake in st # ly cousin George sent-me a pot, Alligator and TF want to reciprocate?’ THE FOLLIES OF 1861 39R. FOLLIE IS A STRONG ADVOCATE OF RECIPROCITY