Life, 1921-11-03 · page 14 of 34
Life — November 3, 1921 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous business fable by Henry William Hanemann. The story features anthropomorphized office objects (Otis Elevator, Doris Mail-Chute, Amaryllis Filing-Cabinet, etc.) discussing workplace stress and overhead costs. The satirical point targets tired businessmen: Otis Elevator complains about exhaustion from constantly moving between floors, feeling his labor represents wasted overhead costs. His solution—reducing overhead by staying in the basement—is absurdly counterproductive, yet Amaryllis Filing-Cabinet approves, suggesting the logic of cost-cutting can become laughably self-defeating. The illustration shows Otis as a hunter chasing an enormous elephant with a peanut gun—visualizing how impractical his "overhead reduction" strategy actually is. The humor mocks both corporate obsession with cutting costs and workers' desperation for relief from relentless demands.
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How Otis Elevator Reduced His Overhead A Bedtime Story for Tired Business Men TIS ELEVATOR was feeling very low. He was in the basement and had been for the better part of the day. If it wasn’t for Doris Mail-Chute, he would have burst into tears long ago. “Dear Otis,” said Doris, “what's the matter?” “I’m run down,” replied Otis Eleva- tor. “Sometimes, when I’m on the sixteenth floor, I feel exalted. But that doesn’t last long. ‘Buzz—buzz!’ and down I go again, feeling lower with every floor I pass. It’s terrible.” “It’s depressing,” volunteered Ama- ryllis Filing-Cabinet, who was down- stairs having her locks attended to. “It must be the overhead.” “What's that?” asked both Otis Ele- vator and Doris Mail-Chute. “I don’t know—something like. a waist-line, perhaps. Anyhow, it has to be reduced constantly. And it worries the Man in my office. I can hear him muttering ‘the overhead is awful,’ ‘we must cut down the overhead,’ ‘the over- head is eating up the profits, all day Henry William Hanemann long. It’s all he can talk about.” “But what has that to do with me?” asked Otis Elevator. “Well—here you are in the basement. You have sixteen stories overhead. That’s why you feel badly.” “Ha!” said Ferdie Water-Cooler, “logic!” “Yes, yes!” cried Lily Cup, “logic!” “Otis Elevator,” said all the Com- mercial Creatures, “if you want to feel better, you must reduce your over- head.” “But how?” asked Otis plaintively. “T don’t know how. If I were Arthur Adding-Machine, or Tessie Telephone, or Violet Typewriter, or Morris Multi- graph, or Imogene Inkwell, or Basil Bookcase, I’d be smart and know how. But I’m only Otis Elevator. Some- times I’m up and sometimes I’m down. It's very disagreeable.” “Well,” said Amaryllis Filing-Cabi- net, “stop going up and down so much.” “T can't,” replied Otis, bursting into tears. “That's what I’m here for.” “Hush!” said Doris “here comes Mike.” Mike, Otis’ chauffeur, assisted the Office Objects on board. Up they all went. Ferdy, Lily and Amaryllis got off at the eighth floor. When he reached the, tenth floor, Otis, an unstable person at best, became wildly clated. He slipped the control from Mike’s hand and went up and up and up andup .. . and right through the roof! * * * * * “Too bad about Otis Elevator,” id Winifred Waste-Basket, “he’s going to be scrapped.” “Yes, it is too bad,”’ said Amaryilis Filing-Cabinet with a sigh. “Right through the roof he went,” continued Winifred. “Can you imag- ine whatever passessed him to do such a thing?” With all her sturdy and amiable vir- tues, Amaryllis Filing-Cabinet was de- plorably single-minded. “Yes, I can,” she declared. “He knew it was the only way he could reduce his overhead.” Mail-Chute, Intrepid Hunter: Dear me! I wish I had a peanut. .comicbooks.com