Life — October 16, 1919 — page 17: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon from *Life* magazine depicts "Ye Anti-Noise Crusade" as an elaborate medieval fantasy. The illustration shows a fortress-like structure with towers, catapults, and armed figures engaged in what appears to be a battle against noise itself—represented abstractly through the various weapons, siege equipment, and chaotic activity. The satire mocks anti-noise crusades (likely early 20th-century reform movements) by treating noise reduction as a quixotic, overwrought "crusade" requiring military-scale intervention. The "good olde days" title sarcastically suggests nostalgia while the medieval imagery implies such efforts are hopelessly outdated or fantastical. The cartoon ridicules the earnestness and impracticality of noise-abatement advocates by presenting their campaign as absurdly elaborate and ultimately futile.