Life, 1920-04-29 · page 10 of 40
Life — April 29, 1920 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct satirical pieces: 1. **"Caesaring"** (left): A poem mocking ambitious modern leaders who aspire to conquer like Julius Caesar. The speaker fantasizes about becoming an all-powerful dictator ruling "each hemisphere," wearing a royal crown. The satire targets contemporary political ambition and megalomania. 2. **"Missing the 5:15 at Havana"** (top right): An illustration showing what appears to be a chaotic maritime scene with a ship, likely satirizing governmental inefficiency or a specific political mishap involving travel/transportation. 3. **"Dr. Butler's Blunder"** (bottom right): A dialogue piece debating whether governments should actively govern or remain passive. It includes a séance cartoon and workingmen discussing rising prices for silk shirts—satirizing both spiritualism and economic hardship affecting working classes. The page reflects early 20th-century American anxieties about authoritarianism, government effectiveness, and economic costs.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ceesaring RAY, are we drifting A Sp 0) through this din AY To hoary, gory days we When Gaul was all divided in Its famous partes tres, And Czesar conquered where he could, And draped himself in fame? It seems some modern Czsars would Set out to do the same. an~ But everyone would Czxsar be, And none would march be- hind! Each one would rule his chosen school, But no one cares to mind. The lackey schemes to slay his boss— The boss would slay his peer, And set in place a ro: To rule each hemisphere. Oh, what a regal world ‘twill be With Czsars everywhere! No more we'll see just you and me, So gay and debonair; For I shall wear a royal crown Upon my stately head, While you (I hope it won't come true!) I fear that you'll be dead! Mabel Haughton Collyer. MISSING THE 5:15 AT HAVANA Dr. Butler's Blunder Government must really govern.—Dr. N. M. Butler. OT necessarily, Doctor. In fact, the evidence is dead against it. According to the latest statistics, there is no longer anything that a government must really do. A fairly good market is reported for governments that vestigate, governments that abolish, governments that . governments that amend, governments that meddle and governments that muddle, but nobody nowadays has any real use for a government that merely governs. That's antiquated—old stuff. We have progressed ‘way beyond it Doesn't Columbia University offer a course in Curre Politics? IRST WORKINGMAN: Lookat here, Bill. This pa- Medium: THE SPIRIT OF YOUR DEPARTED WIFE IS SPEAK- per says silk shirts have gone up from two hundred See Ue EAT DORS/SHE:RAY i" to five hundred dollars a dozen. , Wey esenve'siaesHecteanerone c60 eeECrEN Ones Srconn WorkincMan: Well, 1 suppose we poor fel- MEMORY IS NOT AS EXPENSIVE-LOOKING AS MRS, SMITHS.” lows will have to pay the increase or go without. comicbooks.com