Life, 1920-09-23 · page 10 of 40
Life — September 23, 1920 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon: "Artist Barber"** A satirical sketch showing a barber performing an overly elaborate haircut on a patient, with onlookers watching. The caption reads: "STOP BREATHING FOUR OR FIVE MINUTES, SIR, AND YOU'LL BE QUITE ALL RIGHT." The joke mocks barbers who treat simple haircuts as complex artistic procedures, wasting customers' time with unnecessary fussiness. **Bottom Section: "Forcing Prices Down"** A humorous dialogue between a husband and wife about negotiating suit prices. The husband describes pressuring a salesman by threatening to leave, ultimately securing a suit priced at $90-95 instead of $150—demonstrating consumer tactics for combating inflated post-war clothing costs. **Right Panel: Jim Rabbit Cartoon** A small cartoon showing Jim Rabbit being arrested. The charge: "CRUELTY TO INSECTS. HE'S BEEN USING LIGHTNING BUGS FOR SPARK PLUGS IN HIS AUTOMOBILE." This is absurdist humor about animal welfare.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Artist Barber: stor BREATHING FOUR OR FIVE MINUTES, SIR, AND YOU'LL BE QUITE MA. RIGHT Forcing Prices Down HAT He Sato to His Wire: I am going to get a new suit to-morrow, and I am not going to pay any of these new, fancy prices, either. I am going to tell the salesman exactly what I want and exactly what I intend to pay. If he begins showing me suits beyond that, I'll remind him of my terms and walk out. There’s only one way to force these outrageous prices down, and that is to refuse to pay them. If they can’t suit me at forty-five dollars they won't sell me. Wuat He Satp to tue SALesMAN: Something in a business suit at about fifty-five dollars. No do; doesn’t hold its shape. Well, I might go seventy-five. Let hat sort of material won't me slip that coat on. Wuat He Sai to Hts Wire: Yes; I gota suit. They are going to send it out to-morrow. No; I had to go a little over the price I had set. The salesman explained the whole thing to me. He is on the inside of this clothing situation, and his advice to me was to buy now. T am getting a suit now for ninety dollars that the store couldn't replace for one hundred and fifty dollars, and they are only letting me have it at that price because I am an old customer. Little Helps for the Painfully Truthful HAVE received your book,” wrote Lord Beaconsfield to an obnoxious athor, “and I will lose no time in read ng it This is a model of veracious statement that is at the same time tactful; and the essence of the tactfulness is the an guity. Of course, most of us lie without a qualm; some on principle, like the Mo- hammedans, who consider it definitely wrong to be caught telling the truth to a Christian. But there are others, literal- ists—one is always bumping into them— who insist on telling nothing but the truth For the use of such, we submit the fol- lowing equivocal remarks: To the lady: “ You're a3 pretty as you can be.” Rejected suitor, congratulating his suc- cessor: “Some people have all the luck.” Cautious bachelor, to fond parents: “That's some baby.” “Thank you, Doctor, for that sermon this morning. It was so restful.” To the loquacious relative: “I can't tell you how much I enjoyed your visit.” For the bread-and-butter letter: “ You don’t know how much I appreciate your kindness.” “T need not tell you,” says Mr. Hard- ing, “of my interest in the consummation of woman's suffrage.” OWARD: man of yours now, old dear. Puitantnrorist: He doesn’t want a job at present. He just found a dollar. I can place that starving “CRUELTY TO INSEC SPARK PLUG IN HIS AUTOMOBILE.” lan is § ing wee Mr. comicbooks Bom