Life, 1921-01-20 · page 26 of 36
Life — January 20, 1921 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical poem mocks Prohibition-era "Blue Laws"—religious legislation that banned recreational activities on Sundays. The "jinx" refers to these restrictive laws. The illustrations and text lament how Sunday restrictions eliminated traditional leisure: fishing, hunting, golf, baseball, and swimming are all prohibited or rendered pointless. The cartoon shows men forced indoors, unable to pursue their hobbies. The satire peaks in the final stanza: sports icons like Ty Cobb and Babe Ruth become "contraband," and baseball—America's national pastime—must be renamed "Indoor Croquet" or "Tiddledy-winks" (children's games), reducing a beloved sport to absurdity. The poem argues these laws represent "Tradition bow[ing] to Shame" before "sanctimonious" religious moralism. The overall message criticizes Blue Laws as oppressive, overly pious government intrusions into personal freedom and Sunday leisure activities.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Blue Sunday Jinx HE Angler and his rod no more May fish the well-stocked purling streams, But lie upon the mossy shore, The mockery of bygone dreams. Nor may the Hunter and his dog The ever-restless rabbit chase, But over rock and fallen log, Play Blindman's Buff about the place. Full many a Sunday afternoon Must pass in silence on the links, While Driver, Mashie, Putter, Spoon Are stymied by the new blue jinx. Yet may the living-room be laid With hassocked bunker, carpet green, While thirsty man, in crape arrayed, Recalls to mind a happier scene, And riow the old-time Swimming Hole, Where happy Sundays have been spent, Must also pay the Sunday toll And pass, anon, to banishment But those still brave enough to fight For freedom and the daily plunge May, under cover of the night, Resort to basin and to sponge. The baseball diamond, in truth, Is overgrown with tangled weeds: And names like Speaker, Cobb and Ruth Are contraband, as are their deeds So doth Tradition bow to Shame Before this sanctimonious jinx, And dare rename our National Gaine, “Indoor Croquet” or “ Tiddledy-winks.” George Mitchell, comicbooks.com