Life, 1911-08-03 · page 23 of 40
Life — August 3, 1911 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine (page 191) contains two distinct pieces of satire. **The Cartoon (top):** A naked bather confronts two police officers who've chased an escaped convict into his new $80 suit (left on the riverbank). The joke is physical comedy—the bather is indignant that his expensive clothing has been ruined during the pursuit, and he's worried about explaining the damaged suit to his mother and girlfriend at home. The humor relies on the absurdity of prioritizing fashion over the capture of a criminal. **The Text (bottom):** This appears to be a philosophical monologue about widespread social discontent. The speaker cynically describes nature itself as complaining and going on strike—fish, weeds, and water all have grievances. This likely reflects post-WWI anxieties about labor unrest, socialist movements, and general social upheaval of the 1920s. The satire suggests that discontent has become so universal that even inanimate nature participates in complaint and protest.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
-LIFE- 191 “CALL IN THE MEN, BILL, we've cot ’im!” Bather: Gor NOTHING! YOU'VE CHASED YOUR OLD CONVICT INTO MY NEW $80 SUIT, WHAT ARE MOTHER AND THE GIRLS GOING TO SAY WHEN I Go Home 1n THAT? time; one vast growl, with minor growls intertwined. “But surely,” I cried, “Under water! Peaceful fishes, darting to and fro through the crystal waters, under the cool shades—.” The sternness of his look stopped me. “One more,” he said, gloomily. “One more whom the pocts have taken in! Down below fishes growl, because the river is too swift, or too slow, or something. Weeds complain that the fishes muss up their leaves, swimming around so. Free love is playing havoc with the trout, while the perch are savagely conservative; even the water claims that it is its undeniable right to flow as it pleases. You notice it docs not flow now. It’s on strike.” “On strike?” “It went on a twenty-four hour strike, just to show us what it could do if it chose.” After a long silence he repeated, plaintively: “What's the matter with them all, anyway?” comichooks,