Life, 1920-03-04 · page 19 of 78
Life — March 4, 1920 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon**: A woman tells her friend that a birthday cake needs to be larger to fit all the candles—a joke about aging. The friend's advanced age requires so many birthday candles that they won't fit on a normal cake. **Bottom Cartoon**: Titled "The March of History," this satirizes political anxiety. Willis worries the Bolsheviki (Russian communists) will run the country, but Gillis counters that a few years ago people worried equally about Trusts (monopolistic corporations) or Tammany Hall (corrupt New York Democratic machine) running things instead. The point: Americans constantly fear different villains will control the government, but life continues regardless. It's political satire mocking cyclical public panic about different perceived threats to democracy. The middle text appears to be unrelated story content about an astronomer communicating via light signals.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Her Dearest Friend: MY DEAR, YOU SHOULD HAVF. MADE YOUR BIRTHDAY CAKE LARGER. NEVER HAVE ROOM ON IT FOR ALL THE CANDLES believing in its’ existence, may, in part at least, not yet have been achieved.” Once more the faint pulsations of light. The astronomer was ready for a more complicated effort. Wink, wink, wink, wink, wink, wink, wink—pause—wink, wink, wink, wink, wink, wink, wink, wink—longer pause—and then a burst, a shower, a mad dancing whirl of sparks, and dark- ness. “*How much is seven times eight?’” cried the astrono- mer. “Is that what they want to know? Great Heavens, they are only human, after all!” And he swept his note- book into the wastebasket. The March of History Witus: Aren't you worried for fear the country will be run by the Bolsheviki? Gituis: No. Remember, only a few years ago we were worrying just as much for fear it would be run by the AS IT SEEMS TO THE TENANTS Trusts or Tammany Hall. comicbooks.com