Life, 1917-02-22 · page 30 of 42
Life — February 22, 1917 — page 30: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces mocking early 20th-century social issues. **"He and She"** parodies male courtship rhetoric through repetitive verse: a man makes grand romantic declarations ("tremendous kiss," romantic salad dinner, goodbye), yet contradicts himself by staying—satirizing male hypocrisy and inconsistency in relationships. **The children's cartoon** shows kids discussing military surrender terms, likely referencing contemporary war anxieties with dark humor about fair combat. **"A Declaration of Independence"** is the page's centerpiece—a mock-serious parody of the actual Declaration, but grievances concern inflated prices (eggs 70¢/dozen, coal $9/ton, butter 50¢/pound, trousers $10). It "declares" middle-class consumers' rebellion against merchants and grocers, treating economic hardship as tyranny. The satire suggests everyday people face genuine oppression through rising costs. **"Classified" and "An Exploded Proverb"** are brief comic dialogues about poverty and marriage regrets, reinforcing themes of economic and domestic struggle. The overall message: post-WWI inflation devastates ordinary citizens more than political revolution ever could.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
318 He and She HEN out spake the son’ of Adam: * “ You must learn a lesson, madam. What I'll teach you, dear, is this, The illimitable bliss Of a long, tremendous kiss—" And he did. Then out spake the son of Adam: “Let us make a salad, madam.” To eat too much they did not mean, Of the egg and lettuce green, And onion with its silvery sheen. But they did, acd Then out spake the son of Adam: “Good-bye, I must leave you, madam, For to-day I tell you true, I'll have nothing more to do With a little girl like you—” But he did. GOL. B. “WELL, WE'LL LET YOU ATTACK US FIRST, NOTHIN’ CAN BE FAIRER THAN THAT.” A Declaration of Independence HEN in the course of human events it becomes necessary for the average man to reduce the cost of living, and to continue to eat three meals a day, a decent.respect to the opinions of mankind requires that he should declare the causes of his griev- ance, We hold these truths to be self-evi dent: That all men are created hungr: that they are endowed with certain inalienable rights, chiefly food, cloth- ing and fuel. But the insolent and in- creasing usurpations of grocers, tailors, coal merchants and other despotic tradesmen have so far reduced the middle-class consumer to subjection that his continuance upon'this planet now begins to be problematical. Let facts be submitted to a candid world: Eggs are seventy cents a dozen. Coal is nine dollars a ton. Butter is fifty cents a pound. “OH, ADAM, DO LET'S STOP AND SEE THESE NEW FALL STY. Trousers are ten dollars a leg. : We, the middle-class consumers, Classified An Exploded Proverb therefore do solemnly publish and de- ACHER: What is your papa’s GGIE: Shure, miss, and it's a clare that grocers, druggists, tailors, name? hard life I bane living. butchers and all other retail merchants tama Wayerr: I have no papa. Mas. Situ: Didn't I tell you, Mag- are hereby and henceforth abolished, Teacner: Surely you have a papa. gie, “If you marry in haste, you.repent and that the interchange of commodi- Emma Wavurr: Oh, yes; you mean at leisure”? ties he effected in future by general the fellow who stays longer than a visi Maccte: Faith, and I've had no barter among the citizens. tor and not as long as a relative lazure! Christopher Morley. comicbooks.com