Life, 1914-02-05 · page 8 of 44
Life — February 5, 1914 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two humorous illustrations satirizing social behavior: **Top cartoon**: A domestic scene where a child refuses more ice cream, saying "I'm afraid I can't, but I don't mind tryin'!" The joke plays on a child's contradiction—claiming inability while demonstrating willingness. **Bottom section**: "Relief for Long Island Hostesses" mocks the social problem of young men's insobriety at dances. The article describes a ticketing system where gentlemen receive champagne at regulated intervals to maintain "equilibrium in the tango." The accompanying illustration shows a man examining his trousers with concern, captioned "These are the first suspenders that really seem to have any effect on my trousers"—joking that even suspenders fail when someone becomes sufficiently drunk and disheveled. Both pieces satirize upper-class social etiquette and its frequent failures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
eee | co = “WON'T YOU EAT SOME MORE ICE CREAM, DEAR?” ~ “V'M AFRAID I CAN'T, BUT I DON'T MIND TRYIN'!” Relief for Long Island Hostesses G\ IVERS of dances in the sporting LZ district of Long Island who have been annoyed by a tendency in young men towards insobriety, are pleased with a new device which is expected to remedy this inconveni- ence. Each gentleman is furnished on his arrival with a ticket on which are marked the half-hours, between eleven and four o'clock. On pres- entation of this ticket to a waiter he gets a glass of champagne and the ticket is punched in the proper half-hour space. The ticket is not good for another drink until the next period. Tickets are not trans- ferable, and each ticket when six drinks have been punched out of it, is taken up. It is believed that the average young man can carry six glasses of champagne, taken not less than half an hour apart, and still maintain his equilibrium in the tango. Hostesses, who have been considerably tried, anticipate “THESE ARE THE FIRST SUSPENDERS THAT REALLY SEEM TO relief from this innovation. HAVE ANY EFFECT ON MY TROUSERS”