Life — September 9, 1909 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This *Life* magazine page satirizes **tariff policy and consumer prices**, likely from the early 20th century. The main cartoon shows a large man (representing a tariff-supporting politician or businessman) confronting a smaller consumer about clothing prices. The caption reveals the joke: wool tariffs have been removed from "cross-typed lambs of Punckaroob" (fictional), yet prices remain high—the consumer is being blamed for supposedly "forgetting" that duty removal should lower costs. The two brief anecdotes below continue mocking consumer complaints. "One Escaped" ridicules a scientist claiming prisons are filling with blondes. "Another Variety" jokes about a foolish young man courting. The overall message: **tariff reductions don't benefit consumers as promised**—retailers keep prices artificially high while blaming the public's ignorance.