Life, 1919-12-04 · page 17 of 80
Life — December 4, 1919 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The headline "TO SOME THE H.C. OF L. ISN'T VITAL" refers to the "High Cost of Living"—a major public concern during the 1910s-1920s when inflation and economic hardship affected ordinary Americans. The illustration depicts a couple examining bills and financial documents, suggesting financial stress. The accompanying poem, "A Ballade of Yule" by Clinton Scollard, offers romantic escapism during hard times—encouraging people to embrace Christmas traditions and love ("beneath the mistletoe") despite economic difficulties and gloomy conditions. The satire's point: while some dismiss rising living costs as unimportant, working people clearly cannot. The poem suggests that emotional and spiritual comfort—holiday sentiment and romance—serve as compensation for material hardship. It's gentle social commentary on how people endure economic anxiety through traditional rituals and sentiment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
TO SOME THE H. C. OF L. ISN'T VITAL A Ballade of VYule Noto that the frost hus fringed the fern That Were eretwhile mt amber glofu, Nofu that fith bicker runs the burn That sang so liltingly and lof, Note that the winds of tiilight blots Tempestuously about the heights, Lote, underneath the mistletoe Let us renefo the Christmas rites! Within the Uear’s uplifted unt Austead of fire beljald the sof! Where gurden paths at chery turn Shofued radiant roses, rofv on rofv, lo, Memory faders as in foe, Recalling Sununer’s lost delights! Lote, underneath; the mistletoe Let us renefu the Christmas rites! Although the fays of life xre stern, And shudofs seent to darker graf, There may be nefer joys ta learn, And happy harbests yet to sofs; Rich compensations still may flofe For us from coming noons and nights; Lobe, underneath the mistletoe Let us renee the Christmas rites! Enboy Forgetting not the long ago, See hots the bright to-day invites! Lote, underneath the mistletoe Let us renefv the Christmas rites! Clinton Scollard. comicbooks.com