Life, 1918-11-14 · page 22 of 34
Life — November 14, 1918 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Main Cartoon - "Easy":** This satirizes extreme wealth disparity in 1920s America. A foreign visitor tours the prosperous South (depicted with marble post offices and millionaires), then encounters the impoverished North—a striking contrast presented as natural regional economics. The satire critiques both regions: the South's apparent excess and the North's visible poverty, questioning how "the greatest democracy in the world" permits such extremes. **Secondary Cartoon - "Not According to Hoyle":** A dark joke about post-WWI tensions. A Sunday school student suggests the "weeping and gnashing of teeth" will occur in Allied prison camps after a premature peace declaration—mocking either pacifist sentiment or Allied post-war treatment of prisoners. **"International Noses":** Post-WWI commentary arguing nations must monitor each other internationally to prevent future conflicts like Germany's pre-war preparations. The crude pun on "noses" (poking into others' affairs) suggests satirical skepticism about this interventionist philosophy. All content reflects 1920s American political debates over isolationism, regional inequality, and international responsibility.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“WHAT Is HE? “i, PEE § Easy T was the autumn of 1925. The eminent stranger was being escorted through th country by the fast methods of transportation, the like of which has never been seen before. They went along easily and tranquilly at about one hundred miles an hour. They passed beautiful marble palaces, each labeled “ Post office.” Boys were throwing gold coins out in the street. Groups of millionaires stood on every street corner, Won- derful equipages glittered in the sun. “This is the country of the millennium,” muttered the stranger. Then a transition took place. The buildin; got lower. The faces of the people grew more sharp. Everything betokened an abject poverty Men who had once been big business men were now standing about with their hands in their {| pockets. The air grew colder. All was desolation. | “How — singular,” muttered the stranger, “that one country, the great- est democracy in the world, should contain such extremes.” Turning to his guest he said: “What is the meaning of this?” His guest—a_ native American smiled urbanely. “ Perfectly simple,” he replied. “ The country you first passed through was the great South, and the country you have just passed through is the North.” Not According to Hoyle S DAY SCHOOL TEACHER Where will there be “ weeping an wailing and gnashing of teeth”? Tommy Wittams: In the Allies’ prison camps after a premature dec- laration of peace. MADE IN GERMANY, A COLLEGE PROFESSOR OR A READER OF THE HEARST PAPER! International Noses HEN we look back and see how blind we were to Germany's das- tardly and long-continued preparations against the peace of the world, we per- ceive that after the war the affairs of every nation must become the interest of every other nation. We have seen what awful harm can be done by a Single country when it is bent upon evil, Henceforth we must be our brother-nations’ keepers. We must de- oo. velop international noses. We must \Gez form international smelling commit- tees. Every rottenness in the farthest Sy land must become our business. It is as clear as daylight that no nation liv- newe Rise oe. . sea"—yes; noses also, FEET. comicbooks.com