Life, 1920-09-30 · page 26 of 40
Life — September 30, 1920 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon satirizes restaurant service standards. A departing guest defends a clearly incompetent waiter to his companion "Isabel"—the man was slow, spilled soup, spoke rudely, and overcharged them. The guest's rationalization: "nowadays one can't expect everything." This mocks how people rationalize poor service, suggesting lowered expectations have become normalized. The article "Our Anxious Prodigality" argues that people value things more when they pay for them. Using biblical references (Jacob and Esau, Herod and Salome), it suggests paying inflates perceived value. The final barb critiques presidential politics: Americans spend millions on campaign funds to "deliver" a President to the White House, yet wouldn't enjoy one obtained free—a satirical commentary on the cost of politics and questionable value received. The bottom cartoon's caption references wind and someone "starting in," though the full context remains unclear from the visible image.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Departing Guest: Our Anxious Prodigality HE old idea that a man en- joys something when he gets it for nothing has, like Nora in “The Doll's House,” lived most of its years on a lie. Nowa- days, of course, it has lost its meaning entirely, because a man can no longer get anything for nothing—no matter what his. particular pleasure-complex may be. I have always maintained, together with Barnum and Mr. Keith and the head waiter at Delmonico’s, that the more a man—particularly a New York- er—pays for what he gets, the more he appreciates it. A man who pays ten dollars to a ticket broker generally likes the show better than the theatre critic who gets in for nothing. This human trait goes back to the days of Jacob and Esau. I have no doubt Esau appreciated the steaming succulence of his BUT, NY DEAR ISABEL, I DON’T SEE WHY YOU OBJECT TO THE WAITER, 1 ADMIT HE WAS SLOW, AND iE SPILLED SOUP ON US AND SPOKE RUDELY AND OVERCHARGED US, BUT NOWADAYS ONE CAN'T EXPECT EVERYTHING Binks: "RIA—THERE WASN'T A BREATH OF WIND UNTIL YOU STARTED IN mess of pottage after paying that miserable profiteer, his broth- er, his little grocery bill for len- tils. Herod enjoyed Salome's dancing tremendously when he thought it was going to cost him a few peacocks and provinces, but when she only charged him one Baptist’s head for it, he changed his mind. I feel mor- ally certain that a magnate pay- ing two thousand for a Louis XIV stateroom on the Imperator appreciates what he gets far more than Shem, Ham and Japhet did their bridal suites on Noah's ark. The more you pay for what you get, the more you enjoy it. Frankly, is it not a peculiar perversion? Why is it that we cannot enjoy a President with- out paying several million dol- lars in campaign funds to have him delivered at the White House? comicbooks.¢omy