Life — April 8, 1920 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis The cartoon titled "Nothing Doing" depicts two men holding protest signs confronting a group of onlookers near a body of water with mountains. The signs appear to reference current political debates (text is too small to read clearly). The accompanying article "Notes on Current Noises" discusses disputes within the New Republic magazine's editorial board regarding Hoover administration policies, specifically about the Plumb Plan and Peace Treaty. It also addresses Cardinal O'Connell's statements about male authority in households, with contributors Frank Crane and others offering satirical counter-arguments. The cartoon likely visualizes the frustration of activists or reformers being ignored by the public—"nothing doing" suggesting their message isn't gaining traction—while the text satirizes various contemporary political and social controversies of the post-WWI era.