Life, 1920-01-22 · page 25 of 36
Life — January 22, 1920 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the everyday frustrations of middle-class American businessmen. The sketch depicts three men and a boy—likely illustrating one of the listed "problems." The left column humorously catalogs mundane social annoyances: enduring bad movies with chatty children, requesting raises, wearing ugly gifts, meeting ex-girlfriends, and listening to tedious conversation. The right section references a contemporary political debate. General Tasker Bliss (a WWI figure) reportedly said you cannot kill ideas "by bayonets"—a comment on Russian Bolshevism. The editor responds skeptically, questioning whether deportations (likely referring to the U.S. Red Scare and mass deportations of suspected communists in 1919-1920) could succeed where violence failed. The closing phrase "we shall know in time" suggests skepticism about anti-communist suppression tactics. Together, the page juxtaposes trivial personal annoyances with serious ideological conflict, suggesting both dominate the businessman's consciousness.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PROBLEMS OF A BUSINESS MAN Life's Little Pleasures Sitting beside the restless boy who chews gum and asks questions at the movie show. Suggesting to the boss that a small increase in salary 5 would be acceptable. aring the lavish neckwear a maiden aunt gave you at Meeting two of the girls you jilted, at your fiancée’s I ISTENING to a military genius outline the cause and ct of the next world war. Nuenie \ 4 bai ‘nw th reception, ending a lecture on eugenics and discovering that “: on and the speaker are the only males present. As to Killing an Idea Paying the gas and repair bills incurred by your brother- ISCUSSING Russia and the Bolshevist peril, General in-law while he was driving your car last summer. Bliss remarked : “ But you can’t kill an idea by bayonets.” Persuading the landlord that your rent is sufficiently high. Whether you can kill an idea by deportations is a matter Sharing a hymn book with the elderly lady who possesses proper for more discussion than it has received. But we a cracked soprano voice. shall know in time. comicbooks.com