Life, 1920-10-21 · page 7 of 44
Life — October 21, 1920 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features an illustration titled "The Guilty Ones" depicting an adult and child by a stream, with dialogue about hockey. Below is a poem "On Games" by Carolyn Wells celebrating various sports. The cartoon's satire appears to address parental hypocrisy: the adult warns the child that the mother would disapprove of them playing hockey together, yet suggests they won't tell her. This captures turn-of-the-century anxieties about children's unsupervised activities and gender-appropriate play. The accompanying poem romanticizes games—golf, cricket, roulette, and ball sports—presenting them as noble pursuits that teach skill and character. The satire likely mocks this sentimental view by juxtaposing it with the cartoon's depiction of deception and rule-breaking in actual play.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE GUILTY ONES “L WONDER WHAT YOUK MOTILER'D SAY IF SHE KNEW YOU WERE PLAYING HOUKEY,” “ SHE'LL NEVER KNOW, DAD, IF WE DON'T GIVE EACH OTHER AWAY.” Most every game, as I have found, Is just to make the ball go round; Whether it’s thrown or hit or kicked, Whether the rules be lax or strict; If in the air or on the ground, The game's to make the ball go round. The golfer, with his lordly skill, \round the links propels the pill The pitcher, with great pride of nerve, Delivers a stupendous curve On Games While foot or basket balls rebound As players make the ball go round. In a roulette wheel quickly sped The ball goes round to black or red. And in croquet, of memory dear, When grass was green and skies were clear, Polite young people gaily found Pleasure in making balls go round Yet as we play in gleesome mirth Our pygmy games on thistold earth, How puerile the art we clain We're pieces of the Greate A Master Hand, with skill prc Unerring, makes the ball go round. And our ball’s but a point in space OF the wide universe we trace. By the Great Champion are tossed 3alls in a game th never lost Beyond imagination’s bound itudes of halls go rour comicbooks.com