Life, 1919-07-03 · page 16 of 52
Life — July 3, 1919 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes **inflation and the rising cost of living** in early 20th-century America. The poem "Gloomy Retrospects" (attributed K.L.R.) uses nostalgia to mock people complaining about price increases. The speaker recalls 1909 when cream cost 20¢/quart, butter 27¢/pound, shoes cost $5, and cooks earned $5/week—treating these as hardships. Now that prices have doubled, he realizes his old complaints were petty, though he still yearns for those cheaper days. The lower section addresses **Prohibition**. The "War Wedding" joke suggests newlyweds' union was as brief/insignificant as wartime. The immigration cartoon shows Wilson defending himself against charges of being foreign—likely referencing nativist anxieties. "Alcoholic Aftermaths" satirizes **Prohibition's hypocrisy**: despite the alcohol ban, people maintain home distilleries and mock enforcement while claiming substitutes are "99 44-100% pure"—a reference to Ivory soap's advertising slogan, suggesting commercial irony.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
16 Gloomy Retrospects REMEMBER, I remember The things T thought were high ‘Way back in nineteen-nine or What time I went to bay Rich cream was twenty cents a And butter, by the pound, Was twenty-seven cents; and How frequently I frowned! I remember, I remember My poignant fit of blues When dollars five were wrenched from me For just one pair of shoes! And now, bowed down by grief and woe And bitter, bitter pain, I pray that shoes some day may drop To five a pair again! I remember, I remember The way I raved and swore When thirty-dollar suits began To cost five dollars more; And when a cook, at five a week, Demanded that her Be raised to eight, I well recall My apoplectic rage! I remember, I remember The gloom that filled my brain When gasoline struck thirteen cents And drove me near insane; And now, when things cost twice as much, It gives me little joy To know their cost is nearer heav'n Than when I was a boy K. LR. Real Battles Later EL They had a “ war wedding,” didn't they? E Stetta: Yes, found that it was only a skirmish. but they afterwards “BUT THINK OF THE MONEY SAVE THROUGH PROHIBITIO: SAVE! WHY, THE MONE! STOCK UP MY CELLAR WILL KEEP ME IN DEBT FIVE YEARS you'LL A NEW IMMIGRATION LAW Wilson: 'M NOT AN IMMIGRANT, PRESIDENT OF THE Alcoholic Aftermaths (With Apologies to Certain Well-Known Advertisers) HOSE who attended John Barley- corn’s farewell party last night will admit that the memory lingers. There's many a dog running around this morning that would not recognize his master’s voice. The thirst is yet ¢ By the way, have you a little distillery in your home? come. There will always be drunkards and there will always be moderate drink- ers—there’s a reason: nature’s way. Be it ever so full of cobwebs, there's MAY PROVE EMBARRASSING DON’T YOU REMEMBER, I USED TO BE UNITED STATES? no place like a well-stocked cellar— ask the man who owns one, Says your sympathetic neighbor: “Don't envy a good collection of cock- tails; drop in on me any old time and have one.” Alcohol is dead! Long live Alcohol! We hear that most of these alcoholic “substitutes” are about 99 44-100 per cent pure. When the crime records for the next few months begin to be tabulated for apostles of Prohibition to read, there are bound to be some unusually acid mouths. Eventu off Pro ly the country will throw ition; why not now? * comicbooks. comm