Life, 1918-12-19 · page 23 of 34
Life — December 19, 1918 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The page contains three satirical pieces: **Top cartoon** ("A Consensus of Opinion"): Depicts a restaurant scene where patrons discuss various wartime grievances. The jokes mock profiteering—one sign advertises "half a portion of food for a double portion of price," while another criticizes the proprietor as a thief who should be in a "rogue's gallery." A final quip attacks "one percent patriotism and ninety nine clear profit," skewering businesses exploiting wartime conditions for financial gain. **Middle section** ("Mechanics"): Describes a modern businessman's day using cutting-edge 1910s technology—electric bulletin boards, filing systems, wax cylinder dictation, wireless telegrams. The satire targets efficiency obsession and dehumanization of office work, particularly the image of a secretary "strapped into a steel enclosure." **Bottom piece** ("The Certainties of the War"): A dialect joke featuring Black characters (Mandy and Selah) discussing war benefits. Mandy predicts the current war will "make us all ladies and gemmen," paralleling claims that the previous war granted freedom. The humor appears to mock both naive optimism and broken promises to Black Americans.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
oats <}/ KEEP You! Z\VLL BET THE PROPRIETORS PORTRAIT. | Ti a % ISIN THE ROGUE'S GALLERY. , = i 2 ERE | Z aT ada es {HE OPENED THIS RESTAURANT IGILANTES OUGHT TO | ;) ONE PERCENT PATRIOTISM BECAUSE PORCH CLIMBING ff FTER THIS FELLOW.|,, \(ROBBERS:) M{_ [AND NINCTY NINE CLEAR PROFIT. 5 Mechanics HIE business man of to-day entered his place of busi- ness in the morning and looked at the electric bulletin hoard that registered his calls from the outer office. He hing on a pad, and it was transmitted to the callers in waiting He took up his filing system and abstracted therefrom the morn respondence, the letters having been opened up by tt \fiair that made four hundred revolutions a minute He took down a wax cylinder from a receptacle, inserted 1 lacquered machine, turned a recording leve a mouthpiece, pressed a button and dictated mail to a mysterion ity He received a wireless telegram, telephoned, took his hat and stick, went out into the reception office, where a young woman was strapped into a steel enclosure that looked like a German system of defe and said sweetly “Miss Smith, Twill be back the day after to-morrow— if hy 1 you think you can catch up with what 1 have the last The Certainties of the War MSSDY and Setah, both very fat and very black, were riding downtown in a street car and conversi in loud tones across the aisle about the progress of the war Mandy was the oracle of the occasion, and spoke her con- Neighbor: 1 WEAR YOUR SON HAS DISTINGUISHED HIMSELF victions in no uncertain tonee “Selah, Ah done tole yuh AT THE FRONT dis wah gwine be a wonduhful t'ing foh us colo'd folks Mrs, Murphy: Vis, ME nov PAT ALWAYS Was A nRAwE ONE. De las’ wah done make us free, didn’t it? An’ dis wah TH’ DARLIN’ EVEN STARTED A ROW WITH ME WANST. suah gwine make us all ladies and gemmen.” comicbooks.com