Life, 1921-01-06 · page 26 of 44
Life — January 6, 1921 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several standalone comic sketches mocking American institutions and social absurdities: **"A Dilemma"**: Irish-accented characters (Pat and Mike) joke about worrying—Mike forgot what he was worried about yesterday but can't stop worrying anyway. This satirizes circular anxiety and forgetfulness. **Courtroom sketches**: Two vignettes mock judicial incompetence. One shows a judge rendering a verdict based on "because!"—no reasoning. Another features a Bolshevik defendant questioning sentencing disparities, likely satirizing post-WWI anti-communist hysteria and judicial inconsistency. **"Slightly Mixed"**: A judge confuses a criminal case with divorce proceedings, highlighting how routine divorce has become in American courts. **"After the Wedding"**: A justice of the peace openly advertises divorce services as his specialty, satirizing the commodification of marriage dissolution and suggesting divorce is now easier than marriage. Overall, the page mocks legal incompetence, judicial absurdity, and the prevalence of divorce in 1920s American society.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
17S WONDERFUL HOW YOU CAN ABUSE THAT INSTRUMENT AND NOT BREAK IT! A Dilemma PAT: Oi woke up in th’ noight last noight, an’ Oi eudn’t go t’ shlape no more at all fer worryin’, Phwat was ut worryin’ ye? Mike: “Oi dunno phwat ut was. Ut was somethin’ that Oi was worryin’ about yisteddy, but Oi cudn’t fer th’ loife av me ric’lict phwat ut was!” Judge: BUT, LADIES, THIS IS AGAINST ALL THE EVI- DENCE! BY WHAT REASONING DID YOU ARRIVE AT SUCH ‘A VERDICT? Chorus: Because! Slightly Mixed “WY/JELL, if I let you go this time, will you promise not to repeat the offense?” “Just a minute, judge,” whispered the clerk. “Heh?” “You ain’t trying a criminal case, You’ ¢ granting a divorce.” Counsel for Bolshevist: MAY 1 ASK Youk HONOR WHY YOU SENTENCED THIS DEFENDANT TO A HAIR CUT, SHAVE AND BAT WHILE YOU ONLY GAVE THE OTHER, WHO IS EQUALLY GUILTY, FORTY YEARS IN PRISON ? In Next Week's LIFE “THE Announcement of the prize winners in Lire’s Great Title Contest will be made. Look for the issue of January 13. EACHER (after lesson on snow): cold winter day and look around, what do we see on every hand? Puen: As we walk out on a AFTER THE WEDDING Justice of the Peace: BY THE WAY, IF You Two DON’T GET ALONG TOGETHER, COME BACK AND I'LL UNTIE THE KNOT. YOU SEE, I CARRY ON MY LAW PRACTICE AND MAKE DIVORCE MY SPECIALTY, HERE'S MY CARD. comicbooks.com