Life — January 15, 1920 — page 7: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Ode to the Sixteenth of January" - Life Magazine This page features a satirical poem by Arthur Guiterman celebrating January 16th, apparently a day devoted to drinking despite Prohibition. The verses mock the era's alcohol ban through ironic celebration of various drinks—"Hushed is that song of high empire, / 'Give us a drink, bartender!'"—and lament that this "dread" day has stripped away all happiness from life. The accompanying illustrations show exaggerated, distressed figures representing the public's despair over Prohibition's enforcement. "The News at Breakfast" column discusses mundane domestic irritations during the Prohibition era, suggesting how people's lives were consumed by this contentious policy. The satire targets Prohibition's unpopularity and the League of Nations' ineffectiveness, portraying both as sources of national gloom.