Life, 1920-07-08 · page 12 of 40
Life — July 8, 1920 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon:** Three figures in a street scene. The dialogue indicates Harold and Bert are discussing Peggy, with Bert saying "she thinks she knows it all" and Harold responding "Well, what of it? She's only a woman!" This satirizes early-20th-century gender attitudes—the joke mocks men's casual sexism, presenting their dismissal of women's knowledge as foolish. **"Our Course in English" Section:** A commentary on American discourse. It describes citizens on a street corner criticizing government, Congress, and taxation as corrupt. The text humorously notes they "talk" and "gesticulate" constantly but "do not do anything else." This satirizes American complaint culture—citizens loudly criticize politics without taking constructive action. **Bottom Cartoon:** Sparrow to a dog about a Boston Terrier, likely a breed joke.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Miya WA 5 iv Sah a pe 4h x Mf YS veal %, tl nr ES Et yw me Wl eZ I hi, BAS a BY ONES Bate Soy é aa, aval : WHAT'S UP WITH YOU AND PEGGY? HAD A FIGHT? EP. SHE THINKS SHE KNOWS IT ALL “WELL, WHAT OF IT? SHE’s ONLY A WOMAN!” Our Course in English Conversations for the Benefit of Those Who Wish to Obtain Quickly a Knowledge of Our Esteemed Language HERE is a group on a street corner. The group is com- posed of American citizens. See the American citizens talk! They are also gesticulating. They are fine-looking men. A fine-looking man is a man who looks fine. What are the American citizens talking and gesticulating about? Oh, about everything. They are saying that nothing is right. They are saying that the government is run by politicians, that Congress is stupid and extravagant, that vulgarity is the rule rather than the exception, and that they cannot stand it to pay out so much in taxes for corruption. That is the way a group of American citizens talk. Would you talk that way if you were an American citizen? Yes, you would. Do they do anything else but talk? Not much. When I say not much I mean not much. (Idiomatic sentence, to be understood only after years’ residence.) Helping Out Bro. Howe EWSPAPERS report that Atchison, Kansas, has lost three thousand seven hundred and ninety-seven (twenty-three per cent.) of its inhabitants since 1910. Sad, but what a help it will be in confirming Bro. Howe of Atchison in the convic- tion, so dear to him, that this is a rotten world! Sparrow: YOU DON'T MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THIS LOW-BROWED SPECIMEN IS A BOSTON TERRIER?