Life, 1920-06-03 · page 13 of 52
Life — June 3, 1920 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes social pretension and class consciousness. The article mocks wealthy communities that pride themselves on exclusivity while squabbling over status. It questions why expensive neighborhoods argue over who can afford to live there, pointing out the hypocrisy: if you can pay $125 for housing, why quarrel about it? The illustration depicts a domestic scene where a woman stands confronting a man lounging on a couch. The caption suggests she's interrupting his attention to dismiss her educational efforts, implying marital discord rooted in class anxiety. The page references specific villages (Jayburg, Stickliam) with satirically quoted advertising slogans about costs, mocking how wealthy communities market their "respectability" while obsessing over minor status distinctions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Picking a Quarrel A CONTEMPORARY says, “The distinction of being the most expensive community is not one to quarrel over.” Why isn’t it one to quarrel over? In these days of bargain- counter rushes for sixteen-dollar shoes a little community spirit along the same lines is most acceptable. What distinctions sl | communities quarrel over? That of having the worst pe le mayor, the most abysmal transportation service, the vilest landlords or the most hebetudinous movie censorship? vensiveness denotes distinction. Distinction accompanies veness. Why should a person who is perfectly capable willing to pay one hundred and twenty-five dollars for a “COME, COME, Miss FpITH'! IF YOU PERSIST IN PAYI YOU YOUR NATURAL HISTORY LESSON YOU EXPECT ME TO FINISH GIV semi-ready-made suit be permitted to exist in a community that makes no attempt to raise its scale of living to a respect able tone? On with the altercation. The individual must be protected. Picture the respect-compelling effect upon the transient mo- torist of a signboard stating: “This is Jayburg. It costs you fifty dollars more to be arrested for speeding here than it does in that prehistoric village you are just leaving (or coming to).” Again, picture this tastily painted placard: “ Quoggles Four Corners—Try to Get a Meal from U Or this: “ Ye Quainte Towne of Stickham—Gas, Forty Cents; Oil, Thirty-five Cents; Lodging, Seven to n Dollars a Day. Meals and Garage Service Extra. RE ScnAnes rae ATTENTION TO THAT SILLY RORIN, HOW DO comicbooks.com