Life, 1919-07-31 · page 28 of 40
Life — July 31, 1919 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical "drama" mocking the American telephone system under Postmaster General Albert Burleson (the reference to "Electrical effects by Mr. Burleson" is the key). The piece depicts a subscriber trying to reach Cortland 1448 but encountering: - Incompetent operators who connect him to wrong numbers (Columbus 4771) - Supernatural interference: mysterious voices, wrong parties, crossed lines - Ethnic caricatures speaking broken English (Yiddish-inflected, suggesting immigrant callers) - Absurd interactions (a woman insulting the caller, people arguing on shared lines) The humor satirizes the **real chaos of early telephone service**: dropped calls, wrong connections, party lines where multiple subscribers shared one line, and operators' errors. Burleson's administration was blamed for poor telephone management. The "supernatural" framing suggests the system is so broken it seems magical that it occasionally works at all. The bottom cartoon shows someone drowning—another joke about being in over one's head, likely about the telephone company's failures.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“HEY, POP, ARE YOU GOING TO WRITE ANYTHING ABOUT US?” Are You There? A Drama of Telephone Service and the Supernatural (Electrical effects by Mr. Burleson) HE VOICE WITH THE SMILE: Number, ple-ase? Tue Pain Sunscriner: Cortland 1448. Tue Voice: Columbus 4771? Tue Susscriner: I said Cort— Joice: One moment, ple-ase. (Forty-seven seconds ) What number did you call, ple-ase? Tur Sunscriner: Cortland 1-4-4-8. Tue Voice: silence.) Columbus 4771 does not an-swer. Tue Supscriner : Tue Voice: silence. A Strance Voice: ANOTHER: Tue Supscriner Botn Votces: tomuh sweetuh ? One moment, ple-ase. (/uterminable Goshdarnit! I want Cortland— I'll ring them again. (More interminable Cha lummie smuchasevver, dearuh? Ah, cutoutabull! Hello! Hello! Hey! Get offena wya! Cha seemtalkin- Tue Voice with THe SMe: ing, ple-ase? Tue Su Tue Voic usual silence.) A New Voice: Hel-lo? Tue Swascriner: Hello! Who is this? Tue New Voice: Who iss dot? Tue Sunscriper: Who fs this? Tue New Voice: Who iss dot? I shouldn't tell you whe iss dis. You shouldn't tell me who iss dot! sascriner: Hello! Cortland 1448? E New Voice (becoming slightly sho, What number are you call- cRIBER: Cortland 1448. Cortland 1448. One moment, ple-ase. (The yrn): 1 don't vant Cortland—I vant Lenox; nine, oy, oy, seven. I vant Goldstein's market. I vant a herring. A Few More Voices: Pull up your line. got one hooked fish Maybe yvu've You want too much—d’ye think this is Christmas? East Orange Applesauce— Tue TELepHone: calling Miss Violet Brrr .. graxxx, gurk’ bang! bang! Anotner Voice with Sante: Information. Tue Supscerrer: Hello! Tue Voice: Information. want information ? Tue Svusscriner: Infor— Tell me, how do you get that way? Tue Voice: What way? dress and initials, ple-ase. consulted the directory? A Sweet, Femace Voice: you are, you lite darling Tue Surscrtper: Madam, I— Tue Sweet Fearace Voice: Why, you big. stiff, how dare you talk to me? Tne Sunscriner (wiggling the receiver hook fran- tically): Hello! Hello! Tue Ortcinat Voice: Upper’rrr....Number, ple-ase? THE Sane What? What? Do you The ad- Have you Oh, there “HOW DEEP IS IT, MISTER?” “OH, ABOUT UP TO MY CHIN.” “WHICH CHIN?” comicbooks.co KUM