Life, 1919-06-19 · page 28 of 42
Life — June 19, 1919 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical sketch mocks the U.S. Post Office bureaucracy, likely under Postmaster General Albert Burleson (referenced as "Bur'eson-ized" in the subtitle). The joke centers on rigid, absurd officiousness: a clerk refuses to deliver mail to "Wilberforce Jenks" because the addressee's official name is "Cuthbert W. Jenks"—despite the citizen demonstrating these are the same person using different name variations. The clerk insists on literal identity matching, making the mail undeliverable on technicality alone. The satire targets government inefficiency and red tape: regulations meant to ensure accuracy instead produce comical obstruction. The hypnotist illustration above suggests authority figures' inability to solve real problems. The final stage direction—a bystander defending the clerk as "the most efficient guy in the station"—delivers the punchline: this absurdity represents the Post Office's actual standard of "efficiency." The sketch criticizes bureaucratic inflexibility harming ordinary citizens.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
AND NOW “W* you too busy to see any “PROCRASTINATION is the thief European ruins?” of time,” and hesitation is an ac- “None except the fourteen points.” cessory before the act. THE MYPNOTIST’S BEST EFFORTS FAIL HIM IN A CRISIS Our Glorious Mail Service A Drama With a Hidden Plot (The registry window of a Bur'eson- ized post-office station.) HE REGISTRY CLERK: Identi- fications? Tue American Citizen: Here. Tur Cuerx: No good. This identi- fies C. W. Jenks. The letter I have is for W. Jenks. Tue Citizen: My name is Cuthbert Wilberforce Jenks—or Wilberforce Jenks—or W. Jenks. Tue Crerk: This letter is plainly addressed to Wilberforce Jenks. Tue Citizen: I am Wilberforce Jenks. Tue Crerk: You've just identified yourself as Cuthbert Wilberforce Jenks. Tue Citizen: Well, I'm Wilberforce Jenks also. Interested Citizens (in chorus): His name is Cuthbert Wilberforce Jenks. Cit Can't you sce that a man can hi: ce nami two of them? Iam called Wilberforce. Cuorus or Citizens: He's called little Wilberforce, dear little Wilber- force. Tue Crerk (loftily) : A man is gen- erally known by his first name. Your name is Cuthbert W. Jenks— Tue Cinize Goshdarnit! ! ! Tue Creek: Or C. W. Jenks, or Cuthbert Wilberforce Jenks. There- fore, you cannot be Wilberforce Jenks. Tue Citizen: Don't tell me I'm not who I am! Tue Crerk: You cannot claim this letter without— Tue Citizen: Who do you think I am? Tue Crerk: I know you are Cuth- bert Wilberforce Jenks, so your letter is not for you. (He slams down regis- try window on which is a sign, “Closed for the Day.”) Tue Crrizex: What are you going to do about it? Tue Crerx (off stage): Return it to the sender as unclaimed. (This is his ultimatum.) Tue Citize (This is his.) A You sp IMpressionasle MAIL Carne: Say, lay off that, you. He's the most efficient guy in the station. (Curtain) Of all the blank fools! eg comicbooks.com