Life — November 20, 1919 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 853 **Top Cartoon**: A social gathering where a man is warned not to repeat a compliment he made about another man's wife being "the handsomest woman in the room" — before that wife arrived. The joke satirizes gossip and social hypocrisy: the compliment becomes problematic once circumstances change, revealing how men's flattery is insincere and contextual rather than genuine. **"The Lacking Essential"**: A business dialogue where Platts asks Crerason if his new business is ready to start. Crerason has everything except "the consent of the union" — satirizing labor union power and their ability to block commercial enterprises regardless of other preparations. **"Progress"**: A poem by Hersey Allen contrasting Pittsburgh's past backwardness with its modern progress, noting how whiskey is now illegal (Prohibition era) and Washington's reputation has declined.