Life, 1892-04-07 · page 5 of 18
Life — April 7, 1892 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 211 This page satirizes early 20th-century Chicago alcohol prohibition debates. The main text mocks predictions that a "millenium" will arrive through hasty legislation banning Sunday alcohol sales, while allowing sales the other six days—an obvious logical contradiction the writer finds absurd. The section titled "An Unequivocal Ambiguity" presents a humorous dialogue between Primus and Secundus debating whether Morton's recent dinner party was lavish or stingy, playing on ambiguous language. The bottom section celebrates that New York's World's Fair will close on Sundays, sarcastically suggesting this will somehow reform morality. It mocks "sanguine rustics" who believe closing the fair will drive crowds to churches rather than bars. The small illustration labeled "An Affair de Cur" (a pun on *cur*, meaning dog) appears to depict a comic mishap.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Tis 18 SIMPLY A QUIET CITIZEN TRYING TO PAY 11s FARE IN A FIFTH AVENUE STAGE IN MOTI stupid but a mischievous error. The millenium is not going to be attained by hayseed legislation Chicago will sell more alcohol at a good profit on Sunday than during the other six days put to- gether. AN UNEQUIVOCAL AMBIGUITY. RIMUS: Morton gave a dinner last night to his friends. SECUNDUS: I thought he was too stingy for that. Not a very merry party, eh? PRiMuS: Oh, yes; there was many a jest over the wine and cigars. SECUNDUS: After the guests left the house, I He: Dip You HAVE A GOOD TIME ON YOUR CAMPING PARTY LAST SUMMER 2? Presume. She: TsHoutp say so, WE HAD s WE CAME HOME THERE WERE FOR’ ET joy be unconfined among the liquor dealers = * at Chicago! Also let there be rejoicing among the pro- prietors of beer gardens and of all manner of side shows. It appears that the New York exhibit at the World's Fair is to be closed Sundays. If the entire © exhibition is closed on that day it will be the very best thing that could happen for the bar rooms and moral enterprises of a kindred nature. Those sanguine rustics who believe that the thou- sands of strangers suddenly thrown upon their own resources are going to rush to the churches because the fair is closed, make not only a AN AFFAIR DE CUR. comicbooks.com