Life, 1920-01-08 · page 29 of 44
Life — January 8, 1920 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical pieces mocking early 20th-century social restrictions: **Top cartoon**: A beach scene showing a man refusing to dress despite cold weather because he won't give tips to attendants. The joke targets tipping culture's absurdity—he'd rather suffer than pay. **"Elimination" story**: Satirizes the Prohibition era's moral crusades. A man has systematically eliminated his dog, children, and wife from his apartment because his building—run by the "Prohibit-Everything League"—bans them. The dark humor escalates with each family member's absence, culminating in the building also banning smoking. The narrator flees to the country in disgust. The satire targets not just Prohibition itself, but the era's broader pattern of restrictive "purity" organizations that sought to eliminate perceived social evils through blanket bans. The joke is that in eliminating "undesirable" elements, the building has become an absurd, inhuman space where even the resident's own family has no place. **Context**: This reflects 1920s anxiety about Prohibition's overreach and moralistic activism.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“WHY DON'T YOU DRESS, DEAK? YOU AKE So COLD!” “SO LONG AS I DON’T HAVE MY CLOTHES ON, 1 DON’T HAVE TO GIVE ANY TIPS!” “T's A SHAME TO LEAD HIM ONTO THE SLIDE, BUT IT’S COTTA BE DONE” Elimination Y friend sat in a luxurious New York apartment alone. “Where is your old dog Fido?" I asked. He put his handkerchief to his eyes. “1 sold him,” he replied. “They don’t allow dogs in this building, but it was the only shelter I could find!” “Where are little Tommy and Betty?” He put his handkerchief to his eyes. “I sent them off to a boarding school which has no vacations,” he replied. “They don’t allow children in this building, but it was the only shelter I could find!” “But surely your wife’s here! Where is she? He put his handkerchief to his eyes. “She is at the Martha Washington Hotel,” he replied. “ They don't allow women in this building, but it was the only shelter 1 could find!” I asked no more questions. I offered him a cigar in silent sympathy. He leaned toward me and spoke in a nervous voice. “Not here!" he said. “This is run by the Prohibit- Everything League, and they don’t allow smoking in this building, but it was the only shelter I could find!” That night I took a train back to the country. Jeannette Phillips Gibbs. MINISTER'S son has a greater reputation for wild- ness if he is as sporty as the other boys. comicbooks.com