Life, 1928-04-05 · page 12 of 59
Life — April 5, 1928 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily an **advertisement for Metropolitan Life Insurance Company** (1928), disguised as public health advice. The cartoon depicts a well-dressed doctor with two children, illustrating the caption: "We're not sick, Daddy. Why are you taking us to the Doctor?" / "Why? To do all we can to keep you from ever getting sick." The accompanying text promotes **preventive medicine**—annual physical exams, disease screening, and proper diet—as modern wisdom. It encourages parents to protect children from common illnesses like diphtheria, typhoid, and smallpox through medical vigilance. **The satire/point**: The ad conflates insurance company profit with child welfare, positioning Metropolitan Life as a guardian of public health while actually promoting its insurance products. The "preventive care" message serves the company's interests by normalizing routine medical visits and preventive spending.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Orns mene “We're not sick, Daddy. Why are you taking us to the Doctor?” “Why? To do all we can to keep you from ever getting sick.” OUR children will probably never forget the odd experience of being taken to the doctor when they are perfectly well. Perhaps no other act of yours could stamp more indelibly on their minds the wisdom of preventing sickness. When your boys and girls were ill nothing was left undone to make them as comfortable as possible and to help them to get well. But have you done what you can do to spare them from future illnesses? Have you guarded against diphtheria, typhoid, smallpox and rickets? Have you had adenoids removed? Teeth, eyes, throats, legs and feet—every art of the body should be examined. odern medical science teaches us that in order to prevent much needless disease and suffering every child should have a complete physical examination at least once a year. Make May 1928 a banner month for your children. Have them weighed, measured and examined for known and unknown defects. Give them a fair start toward a happy and useful life. The Metropolitan has issued a booklet, “Out of Babyhood into Childhood”, which gives valuable advice on pre- ventable diseases with helpful sug- gestions concerning diet, environment and ge Mailed free upon re- quest to the Booklet Department, Metropolitan Life Insurance Com- pany, No. 1 Madison Avenue, New York City. Write for it. Haley Fiske, President. : METROPOLITAN LIFE INSURANCE COMPANY ~NEW YORK Biggest in the World, More Assets, More Policyholders, More Insurance in force, More new Insurance each year comicbooks.com