Life, 1919-03-13 · page 29 of 42
Life — March 13, 1919 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes Prohibition-era bootlegging and anti-Bolshevik sentiment (circa early 1920s). **Upper section:** Fake "Famous Bolsheviki" quotes mock Russian revolutionaries with absurd, threatening statements about bombs and betrayal—reflecting American anxiety about communist infiltration post-Russian Revolution. **"Living Sub-Rosa":** The main article imagines an "invisible government" run by bootleggers (illegal alcohol smugglers), playing on 1920s fears that Prohibition had created an underground criminal power structure. It predicts bootleggers will splinter into ideological factions and offer illicit services (forged documents, theater tickets, passwords to speakeasies). The satire suggests Americans embrace danger and novelty despite (or because of) Prohibition's restrictions. **"Transporting the Mails":** Four comic illustrations show creative schemes for moving contraband during Prohibition. **"Eddie's Dream of Wealth":** A brief joke about wealth and leisure—a servant asking about breakfast service. The overall message critiques how Prohibition has paradoxically created organized criminal enterprise while Americans eagerly participate.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TRANSPORTING THE MAILS JUDGING ENTIRELY FROM RESULTS Sayings of Famous Bolsheviki VAN ODOROSKI: A bomb! A bomb! tor a bomb! ALEXIS ANIMALOFF : My whiskers I regret that I have only nine fol- owers to raise hob with against my country. Feovor Firtuski: We must all conspire together as ately. Borts Bioopt.ustio You can betray some of the peo- all of the time, and all of the people some of the time; t, personally, I aim to betray all of the people all of the ne. VaLipiMiR VILLAINEK : for licentiousness. well as sey The world must be made safe “NOW that my husband has retired from active business he notices all the pretty young girls.” “How fortunate for you both that he still has something to occupy his mind.” 421 Living Sub-Rosa LL governments to- re divided into two—there is the exoteric gov- ernment and the esote! The germ of latter form is found in government the carpetbag government in the South just after the Civil War. To-day the esoteric form in the United States scems to be centralizing around the bootlegger Within the visible, above. ernment, in the near future, there will ard gov- be an invisible government of the boot- legger, for the bootlegger and by the A great idea, such as this, must ramify. The country will, we doubt not, he divided bootlegger. once set in motion, into radical hootleggers, conservative bootleggers and mugwump bootleggers Liberty of thought and action will be carried on You bootleggers of ideas on the streets who will hand you out about something for a dollar or two; sub-rosa. will meet some new theory bootleggers of humorous papers, the- atre-ticket bootleggers, wha will fur- you with full passwords to plays, performed und ground, that have not the sanction of the authorities; bootlegg sell you forged passports to be on the streets after 10 P. M.; latchkey boot- leggers, and those who will sell you the dangerous preamble to the Declara- tion of Independence. We Americans are always looking for something new and _ titillating. Here are novelty, science-and danger all combined, nish directions s who will EDDIE'S DREAM OF WEALTH “WILL YOU HAVE BREAKFAST SERVED IN THE SUN ROOM OR IN BED, SIR?” comicbooks:com