Life, 1920-04-15 · page 32 of 44
Life — April 15, 1920 — page 32: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine contains satirical commentary and period advertisements typical of early 20th-century American humor publications. **"Our Foolish Contemporaries"** section mocks contemporary attitudes: a farmer dismisses railroad concerns, and a recent doughboy expresses naive optimism about the next war ("Fall in! Count off!"), satirizing public complacency about military conflict—likely referencing post-WWI attitudes. **"Proof"** presents a humorous anecdote about an elderly waiter seeking a character reference from a solicitor. The joke rests on the lawyer's logical trap: he cannot vouch for the waiter's honesty without personal knowledge, yet the waiter expects him to write it anyway—satirizing both bureaucratic absurdity and the gap between what testimonials claim versus verify. The page is otherwise dominated by period advertisements: **Freezone** (corn remover), **Egyptian Deities** cigarettes (appealing to "culture"), **Cuticura Soap**, and **Meyer Rath College** correspondence courses in commercial art—typical consumer products marketed through aspirational appeals.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
716 UR FOOLIS CONTEMPO ARIES EGYPTIAN “Well.” said Farmer Contossel, Ir y “The Utmost in Ci igarettes” 1 the railroads have gone to . Plain End or Ck Tip "What difference doe ao andneal 6) ntndite thesstlee i > People of culture and agent without feelin’ that mebbe I'l be criticised for showin’ Jack of respeck nement invariably n iedhii@a ‘Star FERL Deities Tiey were discussing the Mexican sit to any other cigarette. nation Well, what I hope,” said the recent hhoy, “is that the next war holds ng enough so’s Tecan say, ‘Fall in! nt oti! igh| Forrard hereh! De Unele—their « Lift off Corns e with Fingers cont, the ce ier eaeral th ce of the famous solicitor who usually Doesn't hurt a bit and ‘‘Freezone’’ unched at his table in a certain res nd asked to see the chief costs only a few cents “Well, George,” asked the man of law, when the waiter was shown in, “what can [ do for you? In trouble?” “No, sir, not exactly that; but I've got a chance of a good job at the Hotel Splendide, and I was wondering if you'd be so kind as to write me a testimonial, saying I'm a good waiter, and honest, : Now you can and so forth, sir?" get practical, re- “Well, i course I know 5 sultful training in \. Commercial Art you're a . but I don't know The Meyer Both Com anything else about you, How do I know, for example, that you're honest? “Oh, well, fam, sir! You'll be quite safe in saying . “Very good. I'M write it, then. “Thank you very much indeed, sir! And if at any time you come to the Splendide and want a good lunch or You can lift off any hard corn, soft corn, dinner, be sure to come to my tables. or corn between the toes, and the hard nd UM make you out a bill half skin calluses from bottom of feet price." —Blight Apply a few drops of “Freezone” upon the corn or callus. Instantly it stops hurting, then shortly you lift that bother- some corn or callus right off, root and all, without one bit of pain or soreness, Truly! No humbug! 5 0 y for Tiny bottle of "Freezone" costs lndivhtual jostracticn without disturbing yoar prewet cccupation by few cents at any drug store HOME STUDY METHOD and what you can expert to do. MEYER BOTH COLLEGE OF COMMERCIAL ART N. E. Cor. Misbiene: Ave. at 20th St. PSYCHO-PHYSIOLOGICALLY SPEAKING acauiceran THE INFLUENCE OF MIND OVER MATTER comicbooks.com mis