Life, 1920-01-22 · page 24 of 36
Life — January 22, 1920 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon - "The American Gulliver and the Lilliputians":** References Jonathan Swift's *Gulliver's Travels*. A giant figure (representing America or American power) towers over a crowd of tiny people (the "Lilliputians"). This satirizes America's disproportionate influence or the contrast between American ambitions and ordinary citizens' concerns—likely from the post-WWI era when America's global role was expanding. **"The Nuisance" Poem by Berton Braley:** Satirizes inconsiderate theatergoers and transit riders who cough and sneeze without covering their mouths, spreading illness to others. The speaker humorously notes he caught the cold but has the decency not to spread germs back—mocking those lacking basic courtesy and hygiene. **Lower Image - "Where is the Spirit of Our Forefathers?":** Shows two men reading a newspaper, with one appearing distressed. The caption questions whether American civic virtue has declined, likely referencing post-war disillusionment or contemporary social/political concerns about modern society abandoning traditional values. The page blends social commentary with humor about everyday annoyances and broader cultural anxieties.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Imagination HE Mardi Gras of the reason The rose that blooms on the cac- tus plant of reality. The divining-rod of each generation The gymnasium of sick earth-chil dren, The fiery, impregnable wall between to-day and to-morrow, The Seven-League-Boot of seer poets. The gorgeous ribbons with which we tic up the faded letters of memory The Impossible seeking a bods The Kingdom of Heaven discovered by little children. and THE AMERICAN GULLIVER AND THE LILLIPURITANS The Nuisance WO lovers can sit and gaze as patiently ata star as an old fisherman does at his floating bob. F all the pests of winter time Which aggravate the chilly clime, The worst, I think you will agree, ls most indubitably he Or she—(but much less often)—who In theatres and cars will wheeze Or cough or spray a germy sneeze At you, Achoo! This pest, it is my firm belief, Has never owned a handkerchief. Or seldom has it with him, or He doesn’t know what it is for. And so he spreads the grippe and flu. And though you fidget and you fuss He shoots the lively bacillus At you. Achoo! I sat near one such pest to-day Whose sneezes often came my way And now I feel by todsils itch, By head grows big, by dodstrils twitct His bloobig cold has got be, too; But I've got cobbed sedse, old scout; J will dot throw by bicrobes out At you. Achoo! Berton Braley. Non-Skids for Horses HY not give horses a chance for their lives in slippery weather? The P. C. A. tried to have them shod de- fensively some time ago, but polities or indifference intervened. Surely our horses should be equipped properly to enable them to stand up in a city street ECONSTRUCTION — Raiding the larder after the provisions have gone WHERE 18 THE SPURT OF OUK FOREFATHERS? comicbooks.com