Life, 1910-08-18 · page 13 of 36
Life — August 18, 1910 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate pieces of satirical content about wealthy American tourists. **"In Peacock Alley"** (left): A poem by Arthur Penn mocking Kansas tourists visiting New York City. They've come from small towns (Will Allen's town, Tacoma, Frisco, Creede, Matanzar) and are visiting urban attractions (Wall Street, the Bowery, the races). The satire targets their conspicuous consumption and unsophistication—they're wealthy enough to spend lavishly on fashionable clothes and entertainment, but remain fundamentally provincial and out of place in sophisticated society. **"His Mistake"** (right): A brief comedic dialogue about a husband's error regarding an umbrella cover and his wife's ruined skirt. The humor is domestic rather than political. The overall theme critiques the nouveau riche American middle class attempting to display wealth and sophistication while remaining culturally naive.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ED EE In the shops they have sought out strange things to cash on, So the women wear skirts that are tight as a shoe, And their hats loom aloft in the height of the fashion, Such as never were witnessed in Kalamazoo IV And after they've eaten their opufent dinners, They stroll to and fro and they stare left and right, And they guess at the names of the saints and the sinners Who throng Peacock Alley by day and by night They hope against hope for a glimpse of Caruso; They dream of a chance for a chat with John Drew They really are lonely as Robinson Crusoe And they wish they were back there in Kalamazoo, Vv They have come here in crowds, and their name it is legion; If they see some things to praise they find more to condemn. And they feel they’re marooned in a desolate region, For they never know us and we never know inem. “the men may be worthy, the girls may be pretty, Although we do not care what they are or they do “Phey are strangers inside of the gates of the city, ‘They'll be happier home in their Kalamazoo. Arthur Pi His Mistake “JOHN,” asks the wife, “have you got your umbrella “Sure,” answers the capable husband. “ Sce, I've got it : the thing.” “Crazy! Look what you've done. You've almost ruined my new hobble skirt.’” elated Passenger: AWO<, THERE! YOUR CONFOUNDED WaTcH NM AGNAT. By Jove! That boy Archie has actually zs Fast! taken one of my yachts and gone off to Bar Harbor with it Seconp Macxate: You don’t say! Why, he has the In Peacock Alley nerve of a United States President I Pret Will Allen's town, which is way off in Kansas (I think it possesses a name like Emporia). Vrom Tacoma and 'Frisco, from Creede and Matanzas They assemble and meet at the Waldorf-Astoria. hey have come in their crowds from the South and the West, They ure eager to join in our hullabaloo They have rushed as though ruled by the law of unrest Which forbade them to linger in Kalamazoo. Il ey had worked with a will in all sorts of weathers, ntil it arrived, that jubilant day, they took off their jeans and they put on their feathers © mingle a while with the people who play. the money they've made from alfalfa and pickers, From steel and from cows, from gold and from glue, cy are lavishing now to astonish New Yorkers And to prove they know some things in Kalamazoo. Mr y have dined on a roof; they have been to the races; They have taken in Wall Street, the Bowery and Peil; They feel they are free to kick over the traces, they want to see something to take home to tell OLD STYLE SUBMARINE BOAT comicbooks.com