Life, 1921-04-07 · page 28 of 38
Life — April 7, 1921 — page 28: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains multiple satirical items from Life magazine's humor section. **Top cartoon**: Shows a chaotic dinner party scene where a figure (appearing to be a ghost or supernatural being) crashes through a window above seated diners. The caption references "Hooch taster for Prohibition enforcement agents"—satirizing Prohibition-era enforcement by suggesting even officials couldn't resist alcohol. **"Hurry, Hurry!" joke**: A pun about ships leaving New York fast because "bartenders help stoke" the engines—mocking Prohibition by suggesting crews were motivated by alcohol-fueled energy. **"Pardonable" joke**: A German-made doll being spanked, playing on anti-German sentiment and post-WWI prejudices common in 1920s America. **"The Failure" story**: A short fiction piece about a waiter who realizes he fails at criminal schemes because he looks "thoroughly respectable"—he's mistaken for a government prohibition inspector, preventing him from illicit work. The page's overall theme satirizes Prohibition enforcement and alcohol culture during the 1920s-30s.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Lire Aprilia WILL meet you, Love, in the mystic garden, In the secret hour of the lyric night; I will come with a cry for peace and pardon And kneel to you in white. I see you coming with footsteps stilly, Leaving a faint fire over the lawn— Stately and tall as a shining lily Stirred by the wind of dawn. Come to me, Queen, and my heart em bolden, Touch me again with the mystic rod; Come to me, woman of wonder, golden Out of the heart of God. Come in the hour when the round moon whitens Over the hills and the sacred sea; Come as the roof of the low sky heightens, And bring all heaven to me! POSITIONS WE HAVE NO DESIRE TO FILL Edwin Markham, OFFICIAL “ HOOCH ” TASTER FOR PROHIBITION ENFORCEMENT AGENTS, The Failure a Hury, Hurry! ; Pardonable S Jameson raised his eyes from the LUCK: Why do vessels leaving New “()H! Ruth! Why are you giving that sists card he Goet “the pase ot the York make the greatest speed the first poor dollie such a spanking?” head waiter. In that instant he knew thit three miles? “I found a sign on her that says ‘Made he had been spotted for a suspicious char- Biynx: The bartenders help stoke. in Germany.’” acter, Always this was to be expected, # was the inevitable which never failed to bar him from a big coup. Small deals be could put across; important ones he would forever just miss. With rising irritation he scrutinized him- self in the mirror opposite, while waiter, hovering in the background, eyed him askance. His dinner jacket and tie were quite correct; his manner he knew to have just the right touch of patronizing indifference. What was the matter with him? Why was he always met with th watchful eye, the surreptitious glance, the hurried whisperings? He decided to give up his profession. And then he realized that he had no choice in the matter, anyhow. Lined against the wall stood the bus boys and waiters, alert, ready to step out and sum- marily settle anybody who made the slight- est attempt at a disturbance—anybe dressed and moved and resembled himself. In the glass he caught the head waiter signalling, and he rose quickly. And as he rose his reflection told him the secret of his failure. He looked what he was—tlioroughly re- spectable. . HE SAYS THERE ARE SO MANY GUILD MEETINGS AND SUNDAY SCHOOL Sinall ‘woader that the: propriciors.®” BAZAARS AT HIS SUBURBAN HOME THAT HE HAD TO FIND SOME OTHER PLACE TO shady joints recognized him for a govern SLEEP. ment inspector. comicbooks.com