Life, 1920-05-13 · page 18 of 52
Life — May 13, 1920 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon ("Latest Tactics"):** This satirizes wealthy Americans' paranoia during wartime (appears to reference WWI era). A man (Gayback) shows off fortifications—specifically machine guns—protecting his wine cellar entrance, treating it like military infrastructure. The joke mocks the absurdity of private citizens weaponizing their homes against perceived threats, likely German spies or domestic unrest. It critiques both excessive patriotic anxiety and the prioritization of protecting luxuries (wine) over genuine security. **"The Baffling Boy" Story:** A humorous character sketch of an irritating, precocious boy who memorizes useless information (Latin, cipher codes, nutrition facts) but lacks common sense or social graces. He's pedantic, socially awkward, obsessively searches for hidden items, and affects intellectual superiority while remaining fundamentally annoying to adults around him. **"Agreed!" Section:** Brief satirical note about two women, Clare and Edith, resuming their friendship and social activities after months of estrangement, having "decided to renew hostilities"—using military terminology humorously for reconciliation.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
886 “LIFE: q Wee faked (AUEI ZF WSCC GBS “EY, DS BE Kae jos 2 Z SIO z ZITA Wy? Sal 2 wEz Gate YE Goe | CES ey SIE A Gy tj, ge 1 pile Ofer IRSVA EE g se nity 3 Cy w/a, 4 ON SM lk 1K {\ RS a NC CaS San tt By RN \ Hey ue SRS LATEST TACTICS Gaybuck: Ake THESE WAK TROPITIES YOU HAVE HERE EN YOUR ORCHARD? NO} JUST LITTLE NEST OF MACHINE GUNS TO PROTECT THE ENTRANCE TO MY WINE CELLAR. ° Aunt Mar who hasn't seen him. since feet, thanks her with an embarrassed The Baffling Boy ollar and he was a y. gives him s grunt, and retires into his shell v E memorizes and uses hi dozen tries to chat with him, he falls over her — air of haughty reserve cipher codes with ea 1 can't fix He is thoroughly searched befor one Latin declension in his mind. ing to church of the theatre, and given a He retails impressively, for the i - c 7 Heautiful, clean handkerchief tion of jamily, his school les 5 t/ha handiest pocket: S soon as germ calories, food val 2 MUN Tation 4 , seated in the light publicity, he and hygiene; then goes 1 . t ’ duces from somewhere a ghastly dark- buy hokey-pokey and penny candice AY ¢ gray rag, and. ostentatiously blow try some new “rassle holts” with } fey nose. a friend who has a bad cold. He smells out’ unerringly He spends hours of patient re- new copy of Lire, no matter search on an elusive outeurve, and securely you hide it with th is completely worn out after fif- af a tention of having the first ¢ _teen minutes of piano practice P ~ S : 4 it yourself He is affected almost to nausea by the perfume of cold cream, and ‘ \ Agreed! sniffs the exhaust of a passing [ OUISE: Clare and Edith have automobile with enjoyment. not spoken to each other for In the privacy of home, he asks a <r ee months, but now they are inseparable with Chesterfieldian courtesy, apol ss <<“ eK again. They go everywhere together for making trouble, and is cloquently Jutia: Yes, they decided to renew lios- grateful for a bar of chocolate; when EDUCATION VLA Mope tilities. comicbooks.com