Life, 1918-11-28 · page 14 of 34
Life — November 28, 1918 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes a court case where a woman's jury decides a man's punishment. The top section shows soldiers, relating to World War I-era "Liberty Bonds" references in the dialogue. The main cartoon "When Women Rule" depicts a jury trial where women jurors determine a defendant's sentence. The prisoner allegedly stole money from his wife's pocket while she slept. The satire mocks the potential severity of female jurors toward a man who financially exploited his wife—suggesting women might impose harsh punishment (sentencing him to be a "valet to a movie-picture actress"). The bottom cartoon "Distinguished Service" depicts a dentist interrogating a patient about wartime sacrifices (wearing old clothes, eating little, buying Liberty Bonds, attending orchestra). The joke criticizes the dentist's pretentious moralizing while performing routine dental work. Both cartoons satirize post-WWI American social attitudes and gender dynamics.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
*LIFE? “The judge, who, as you know, is retained by our wom- an’s party for just such cases as this, quite properly ruled out the evidence on this point, but I may say to you pri- vately that the most the prisoner has ever been able to turn over to his wife have been paltry earnings of four of five thousand a year. I move that we give him the limit.” “What is the limit?” asked a fourth jurywoman. “Well, I have been over the list of real punishments that can be inflicted in an extreme case of this kind. You must remember that it is our duty to make an example of this hardened criminal. We certainly cannot have any husband think he can take money out of his wife’s pocket at early dawn without suffering the full penalty of the law. I sug- gest, therefore, that from all the punishments on this list we take the one that sentences him to be the traveling valet to a movie-picture actress. This will make him suffer enough.” “Splendid!” murmured unanimously all the other fore- ladies, as the clerkess of the court was instructed that the jury was now ready to give the prisoner what was coming to him, Distinguished Service ‘ORE you died did you wear all your old clothes?” “Yes, ” “Did you eat as little as possible?” “Yes, sir.” “Did you put your fortune into Liberty Bonds?” “Yes, sir.” “Box seat or first five rows in orchestra?” { HER PICTURE When Women Rule “NJOW, girls,” said the forewoman of the jury of the future, “the evidence shows that the prisoner un- doubtedly stole into his wife's room when she was sleeping, in the carly morning, and took near- ly ten dollars in cold cash out of her trouser’s pocket. The question for us to decide is whether he was justified in this act.” “Ts there any evidence to show that he was starving?” asked one of the jurywomen. “None whatever. On the contrary, the evidence all goes to prove that he had undoubtedly had something to eat forty-eight hours before the act was committed.” “Did the man actually need anything?” asked another jurywoman. othing, so far as can be ascertained from the most rigid cross-examination. On the stand, you will remember, the prisoner confessed that he was the owner of one per- fectly good suit of clothes, which he had worn only three years; that he had a hat and a pair of shoes; that his wife lavished upon him one cigar a week and gave him a dollar a month to squander upon himself. Think of all this, girls! . The ingratitude of the base wretch is what gets me.” Dentist: wHar’s YouR BUSINESS? “Ts he capable of earning-anything? " asked-a third jury= _pgaiises: Wee ens dan Sr ones Aare lentist: WELL, I'LL TRY AND LIVE UP TO YOUR IDEA OF MY woman, PROFESSION ! comicbooks.com