Life — October 21, 1920 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Price-Slashing Commentary This page satirizes post-WWI economic conditions. The main photograph shows fisherwomen discussing whether four of them could catch fish—likely commentary on labor scarcity and wage demands. The text collects complaints from various trades (clothing, groceries, haberdashery) about price-cutting. Each merchant blames external pressures: new freight rates, labor costs, and market competition force them to reduce prices while claiming quality suffers. The smaller cartoon at bottom depicts Prohibition's unintended consequence: a man smuggling liquor ("a house is a house these days, and he at least has a roof over his head"), suggesting citizens evade the law by hiding contraband alcohol in their homes. The page satirizes how wartime inflation and Prohibition created economic distortions and widespread complaints across retail sectors.