The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine (May 1913): Vol. LXXXVI. New Series: Vol. LXIV. May to October, 1913

In Short

This volume of The Century Illustrated Monthly Magazine compiles non-fiction essays, serialization of fiction, topical humor, and poetry from mid-1913. The collection explores political controversies like the Hayes-Tilden election, advances in public health and medical technology, world travel, high art criticism, and contemporary social comedies. Through diverse voices and subjects, it captures the intellectual, artistic, and civic energy of Progressive-era America. Its historical value endures as a vivid snapshot of early twentieth-century culture grappling with rapid modernization, social responsibility, and international identity.

The Story

The volume opens with reflective political history, reconsidering the controversial Hayes-Tilden presidential contest of 1876. Contributors retrace the frantic late-night election mechanics, the partisan conflicts over state returns, and the underlying financial and political maneuvers that shaped the final outcome. This historical scrutiny yields to urgent contemporary domestic concerns, notably the battle against infant mortality in urban centers. The text outlines municipal initiatives, including public milk dispensaries, home visits by trained city nurses, and corporate philanthropy aimed at improving survival rates for children in crowded tenements.

Technological and scientific progress forms a major thread. The narrative details how microscopic motion pictures and X-ray technology, termed "Roentgencinematography," allow medical professionals and laymen to observe internal bodily functions, such as digestion and cellular infections. Beyond medicine, technological concepts extend into imaginative speculative fiction, where characters debate magnetic engines, speed principles, and mental telepathy as a form of "wordless" wireless communication. Economic policy is examined through a critical analysis of American tariff schedules, specifically Schedule K, demonstrating how protective duties inflate consumer prices on everyday wool goods while failing to bolster domestic production.

The volume turns outward through extensive travel literature, charting a journey across the Balkan Peninsula. Descriptions of Greek landscapes, such as the brilliant white marble ruins of Sunium and the environs of Athens, contrast with the wilder, inhabited regions of Albanians and shepherds, eventually moving toward the urban mosque towers of Stamboul. This global perspective is paired with art history and appreciation, asserting that true artistic value relies not on technical perfection alone, but on the presence of a great mind expressing itself through its medium.

In serialization and short fiction, the narrative follows personal transformations and romantic misunderstandings. One arc details an unpolished American heir navigating the social expectations and feudal customs of an English estate, guided by a gentle, impoverished relative. Another story uncovers the bitter domestic rebellion of a woman realizing her youth was sacrificed to family expectations. The volume concludes with political advocacy for organized peace efforts, lighter verse, satirical limericks, and parodies of post-impressionist art movements.

How It Unfolds

Revisiting election history The volume examines the contested 1876 presidential election, tracing how delayed press reports from Southern states turned an apparent Democratic victory into a prolonged electoral crisis. Authors detail the political maneuvering and late-night telegrams that swung crucial electors.

Tackling urban public health The focus shifts to New York's municipal health campaigns aimed at reducing summer child mortality. Through city-funded milk stations, home nursing visits, and ice distribution, public agencies work to curb infant diseases in immigrant neighborhoods.

Exploring technical innovations Contributors highlight advances in cinematography, showing how microscopic video and X-rays reveal unseen biological processes like hookworm growth and stomach digestion. These visual tools promise new applications in medical science and efficiency management.

Journeying through the Mediterranean Travel writers record impressions of Greece and Constantinople, contrasting the pristine white Doric columns of Sunium against bare cliffs with the historic architecture of Stamboul. They describe encounters with remote mountain shepherds along the route.

Inheriting an English estate Fictional entries depict an unrefined young man adjusting to his sudden position as lord of the manor. Guided by the tender, soft-spoken Aunt Alicia, he learns local etiquette and wins over skeptical villagers with easygoing warmth.

Critiquing modern art and life The collection closes with humorous verse and social commentary targeting modern life and abstract art movements. Satirical poems parody post-impressionist painters like Picasso and Matisse, while essays urge organized civic action to prevent war.

The People

• Henry Watterson: A political commentator who recounts the dramatic details of the Hayes-Tilden election, arguing that minor missteps and telegraphic inquiries fundamentally altered American political history.
• Carringford: A weary thinker who engages in a strange, philosophical dialogue with an uninvited guest capable of reading his innermost thoughts and desire for a second chance at youth.
• Margaret: A worn, mildly tragic woman who rebels against the expectations of her overbearing family after dedicating twenty years of her life to reform and her mother.
• Tembarom: An unpretentious, friendly young man who unexpectedly inherits the grand Temple Barholm estate, using simple kindness rather than aristocratic polish to connect with those around him.
• Aunt Alicia: A gentle, soft-spoken woman who loved the previous deceased heir and now offers warmth, social guidance, and village context to the new lord of the manor.
• Mrs. Wendell: A beautiful woman forced to confront her superficial lifestyle when her idealizations of freedom and independence are sharply dismantled by a blunt critic.

In Its Own Voice

"The faculty is not unusual; it is universal. It is only undeveloped, uncontrolled, as yet." — An uninvited visitor explains the concept of thought-reading as an untapped mental phenomenon akin to electricity.

"His time and his surroundings will color him, his art will not be at one time or place precisely what it might be at another; but at bottom the art is the man, and at all times and in all countries is just as great as the man." — An essayist reflects on the fundamental connection between an artist's personal greatness and the enduring value of their work.

"It’s the beauty-spot of the whole world, sure. But we must try ter put up with the mountings." — A traveler marvels at the landscape while adjusting to the rugged mountain terrain on the journey home.

What It's Really About

Beneath its variety of essays, stories, and poems, this volume is fundamentally about the tension between traditional social orders and rapid modernization. It examines how scientific advances, such as X-ray motion pictures and public health infrastructure, reshape human understanding and civic duty. Politically and economically, the texts critique outdated institutions—whether analyzing corrupt election mechanics or exposing the inequities of protective tariffs that burden lower-income consumers. Culturally, the magazine questions how individuals retain authenticity when confronted with changing art forms, foreign traditions, or sudden shifts in social class.

Why Read It Today

This collection will appeal to readers who enjoy social history, vintage journalism, and early twentieth-century American literature. Reading it feels like opening a clear window into 1913, capturing the precise tone of educated public discourse right before the First World War transformed the global landscape. The prose moves comfortably between rigorous civic analysis, lively travelogues, and lighthearted satire.

The reader must navigate period dialect, dense policy breakdowns regarding tariff schedules, and lengthy descriptions of historical political campaigns. Some fictional pieces rely on familiar Victorian tropes or melodrama. However, what stays with the reader is the vibrant, hopeful sense of a society actively attempting to solve its problems through science, reform, and cultural reflection.