Life, 1920-08-12 · page 25 of 44
Life — August 12, 1920 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical piece mocks predictable political and social doomsayers of the era. The top cartoon shows various stereotypical figures gathered around signs—appearing to represent political activists or protesters making exaggerated claims. The text below catalogs archetypal "gloomsters": politicians who prophesy disaster if the opposing party wins; financial experts predicting imminent economic collapse; and moralistic crusaders lamenting societal degeneracy and declining family values. The satire lies in exposing these as formulaic, self-serving prophecies of doom repeated regardless of actual circumstances. The lower cartoon featuring "Mrs. Hippo" makes a gentler joke about brutal honesty in marriage—the husband's candid (if insulting) response to his wife's dress question. Overall, Life mocks the predictable alarmism and moral panic that various American figures deployed to frighten the public, suggesting their warnings were performative rather than genuine.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“We are all honorable men" Our Handbook of Professional Gloomensts Carefully Compiled from Original Sources and Hitherto Un- published Data w in the Possession of the Society for Suppression of Tranquillity to the American People ULLINGAN MURKEYE, ). (Known mong his friends and co-workers as “the life of the party.”) Predicts dire disaster if any other party wins but his own, and calls attention to opposite party with its unparalleled record of corruption, stupidity and gross materialism, De- dares that a great crisis confronts us, that we are now at the parting of the ways, and views with alarm those fatal tendencies which are now to be seen, no matter in what direction we look. J. Pervers Moneysacs, Financial expert and Wall Street oracle. Declares that our economic structure is now tottering from its base up, that inflation has been setting in rapidly luring the past week or so, and that the greatest panic in the ristory of the human race is due next Thursday Rev. Backstairs Buxcomee. Vice crusader and tracker of crime to its fetid lair. Vows that never before has the de- Pravity of woman's clothes been so evident, that the hideous serpent of degeneracy is now gnawing at our vitals, that the home is going or gone, and that those sturdy virtues which have been more or less handed down by our forefathers are now a thing of the past. Politician. afternoon. SHE knew that no man could love her but a fool. He was a man. She did her best to make him capable of loving her. wells as DO YOU THINK THIS NEW DRESS IS BECOMING TO ME, EGBERT? “TO BE FRANK WITH YOU, GWENDOLYN, IT’S MORE BECOMING 10 YOU THAN YOU ARE 70 IT,” Mrs. Hippo comicbooks.com