Life — October 2, 1919 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page documents LIFE's Fresh Air Fund, a charitable program sending poor urban children to the countryside for summer stays. The large illustration shows a crowded recreational gathering at what appears to be a church garden party, depicting the fund's beneficiaries enjoying outdoor activities. The cartoon below features two figures labeled "The Foreigner" and "The Kentickyian," discussing hunger and thirst. The dialogue ("It's the hunger riots we are afraid of in my country / And how is it with you? / It's the thirst riots we've got to look out for") appears to satirize regional American social problems—implying urban (foreign/immigrant) concerns versus rural (Kentucky) concerns differ markedly. The satire critiques American inequality and regional disparities in living conditions during the Progressive Era.