Life, 1919-03-20 · page 39 of 44
Life — March 20, 1919 — page 39: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The left cartoon satirizes Prohibition by depicting a skeletal figure labeled "Prohibition" as "the only thing that will take that cut" from troublemakers—a dark joke suggesting the cure is as deadly as the disease. It mocks the temperance movement's claim that banning alcohol solves social problems. The main advertisement promotes Waterman's Ideal Fountain Pen by invoking Benjamin Franklin's famous association with thrift, connecting the pen's efficiency to American productivity and the WWI-era War Savings Stamps (W.S.S.) campaign. The "Getting Even" story satirizes anti-Semitic prejudice. A snobbish woman invites soldiers to dinner but specifies "they aren't Jews." The punchline—that the officer sending them is named Cohen, implying he is Jewish—exposes her bigotry as foolish. The story mocks her hypocrisy in simultaneously performing patriotic duty while harboring discriminatory attitudes, suggesting such prejudice was both common and absurd among certain Americans.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE ONLY THING THAT WILL TAKE THAT T 18 ALCOHOL, Sas” A UCH is often the cause of trouble, For instance, all les caused by Lw.w moved if every member of ation was an annual sub- Lire, and was cheered up vesday morning Banks and Export Houses hange Departue te esiring to secure more clients among the bet- ter-class American mer- chants and manufactur- ers will be interested in our new plan. Write for particulars, Fireren Trade Department Scripner’s MAGazINE 597 Fifth Ave., New York Franklin credited his success in life to the habit of thrift. W.S.S. are teaching extrav- agant America this habit, and has put into its hands the thrif- tiest writing tool ever produced. It saves time by eliminating the constant interruptions of dipping. It lasts for years. The nibs do not have to be replaced every little while because of corrosion or loss of temper. It puts an end to the extrav- agance of an ink well in which over half the ink is frequently wasted through evaporation or by becoming thick with dust. This one saving alone pays fora Water- man’s Ideal over and over again. The ever readiness of Water- man’s Ideal makes for greater efficiency in the individual, enabling him or her to do more and better work. Firms or Corporations that equip their clerical force with Waterman's Ideals solve a problem of efficiency and economy in office detail. Three Types. Regular, Safety and Self-Filling—$2.50 and up At Best Dealers L. E. Waterman Co., 191 Broadway, New York Chicago Boston Getting Even VEN ‘though the war was over, she decided to do her patriotic duty along the hospitality line. So she called the Army and Navy Club, and transmitted her invitation through a suave-voiced officer. “Tam Mrs. Humpfree McLeod, 33 First Avenue,” she explained, “and I should like to have two of your men come to dinner with ws Sunday at halt- * past one.” “Yes. Thank you, Mrs. McLeod.” San Francisco Montreal “But wait—be s that they aren't Jew The tone of her voice was emphatic Sunday came, bringing two chocolate- colored khaki-clad privates to the McLeod house. When Mrs. McLeod brushed into the drawing-room to greet her soldiers, all a-smile, she was surprised, to put it mildly, “Why!” she s red. “Why, who invited you here? “Our commanding officer,” explained one, “Captain Cohen.” whatever you do, comicbooks.com