Argosy All-Story Weekly, February 12, 1927 — page 27: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

\ a! aA AS ry ‘ i ch f { rd, a\ Pe ‘ oe? i THE PARASITE MEN say she is a parasite, A, lovely thing, but made to grow In silky idleness, and throw Her perfumed beauty to the air— A pleasing toy, not meant to share The trials of this world’s grim fight. A lovely but a useless thing Is woman, born to wealth, they say— Who takes, but never thinks to pay, Nor “earn her salt,’’ as others must, Upon this planet’s salty crust— As useless as a white moth’s wing. And yet—for her great thousands toil In midnight mines, so that her throat May gleam with jewels. And that coat Of rich, dark fur kept busy hands, Ah, many hands, in many lands; And for her whims a million moil In factories, they’re spinning silk To clothe her beauty, make her fair: In tropic climates men hunt rare, Rich viands to intrigue her taste; And in the gray, cold morning haste That she may rise and bathe in milk. And for her sake one man has fought From nothing into full success, = Because she longed for jewels, dress,- And limousines. For her that man Has builded miles of rails to span A continent, and so has wrought A miracle of speed and might, Because she wished to feel the thrill That power brings. Do you say still She is a useless thing to make A million labor for her sake? Is she a common parasite? Beatrice Ashton V andegrift. comicbooks.com