Life, 1919-12-04 · page 50 of 80
Life — December 4, 1919 — page 50: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page presents two satirical pieces reflecting post-WWI economic anxieties: **"The Quest"** is a sentimental poem about pursuing happiness through love and home rather than material gain—likely resonating with 1920s disillusionment with materialism. **"Do Your Christmas Dodging Early"** is the main satirical article. It addresses the economic pressure of gift-giving during financial hardship. The piece proposes that friends should form a "Christmas committee" to mutually *skip* exchanging gifts—eliminating the hypocrisy of obligatory presents people can't afford and don't want. The satirical "resolution" suggests Christmas should be "confined exclusively" to children. The accompanying illustration shows a father teaching his young son, reinforcing this sentiment about Christmas being for children only. **"Financial"** is a brief joke about a husband delaying a suit purchase to "save interest on the investment"—poking fun at overly-rationalized penny-pinching. Together, these pieces humorously acknowledge the economic strain on middle-class Americans, normalizing the idea that skipping adult gift-exchanges is practical and sensible.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Pree St&2 -LIFE: 45% The Quest HE Little Road to Happiness, Men seek it far and wide; For whosoe’er shall journey there He shall be satisfied. 28531 It leads by cool and quiet ways, Such as we walk in dreams, With cloudless skies, whose starry eyes Are mirrored in still streams, Some lose it in the market-place, Who barter youth for gain, And gilded vice with loaded dice Shall throw for it in vain. O Little Road to Happiness— You seemed so far awa T never knew that it was you I journeyed by each day. My restless heart went far afield On many a weary quest; But now T know the path you show To Love and Home and Rest. Ida G. Morris. Do Your Christmas Dodging Early IX spite of the fact that early Christ- mas shopping has been dinned into our ears for a long period, there are many of us who wait until the last And then we overcome hy minute. rush in, sentiment, and do the extravagant thing. That, in the past, was all very well But can we now afford it? This year it is quite proper to dodge judiciously. Jones, to whom in previ- ous years you have sent your Christ- mas gift, may be even now trembling at the thought that you are going to do it again this year, He ought to know you better. Probably he does. heart of hearts he knows you are go- ing to dodge him this year, as he, un- doubtedly, is going to dodge you. In- deed, only an absurd and false senti- mentalism prevents you from getting together with Jones and forming a Christmas committee, the which is to make the Probably. in his object of following mo- tion and to pass it without one dis- senting vote: Whereas, Christmas has gradually “DANDY FEELS BETTER THIS MORN LIKE TO SIT AT THE W! deteriorated from a season of pure joy and fellowship to one of hypocrisy and grasping, therefore be it Resolved, That it is the common sense of this committee that hereafter Christmas shall be for the children only; shall be confined exclusively to them. But, in the absence of any such for- mality, and in the positive knowledge and consideration of the cost of shoes and clothes, not to mention taxes, if you must hedge, be sure and do your gift-dodging early. MOTHER, DON’T YOU THINK HE'D NDOW AND LISTEN TO THE OTHER DOGS BARKING?” set Jones off your mind, and do it Otherwise, at that last moment, you may add another straw to your back by getting him something he doesn’t want and which you cannot afford. now. Financial IFE: Don't you think you ought to get a new suit, dear? Heuspanp: I thought I'd wait until next month, Why wait? “Saving the interest on the invest- ment!” comicbooks.cqnim