Life, 1921-10-06 · page 7 of 33
Life — October 6, 1921 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon:** The illustration by A.B. Frost shows a poorly-dressed man offering what appears to be a "hootch" (homemade alcohol) to a small dog. This visual accompanies a satirical article criticizing the Post Office Department. **The Satire:** The article argues that the U.S. Post Office is missing an opportunity to improve service by not implementing psychological principles for mail delivery. The author uses sardonic examples—a woman receiving a cold toast and undercooked egg, letters arriving late—to mock postal inefficiency. **The Central Joke:** The connection between the cartoon and text appears to critique poor judgment: just as the man foolishly gives alcohol to a dog, the Post Office foolishly ignores obvious solutions (like special delivery and wireless phones) to operational problems. The piece advocates for modernizing postal service methods.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
October 6 iC AiG TRostT He Made Some Hootch and Tried It on the Dog A Chance for the Post Office UR Post Office Department is overlooking an oppor- tunity to make its name ring down the Mail Chutes of Time. It is a matter of psychological moments. ke the case of a love letter. Bob sits down at ten o'clock of a clear, balmy evening to write to Virginia, his Girl of Girls. He has had a good dinner and a cigar. Since that he has read a good love story. At his elbow there is a tall, perspiring glass entirely filled with one com- plete gin rickey. He is at peace. He lets up the shade. Through the open window he sees the moon, three-quarters full. He turns his eyes for a moment to her picture in its place of honor on his desk. He gives his head a little satisfied shake and takes a sip of the rickey. ... He has merely to rest the, point of his fountain pen on the paper and it writes. It moves easily, telling the story of his love better than he thought it could be told. His words take on subtlety and fire. His phrases ring... . The next morning Virginia is at her breakfast. dark, rainy day. It isa She has torn a hair-net in putting it on. Her mirror has been particularly unkind to her. The toast is cold and the egg is a minute short of being properly boiled. Mother has dropped a few pearls of wisdom about Young Women Who Stay Out Till All Hours, and rushed off to the Ladies’ Auxiliary Meeting. The maid comes in and hands Virginia a letter. It is a fat letter from Bob. She opens it and starts to read... . She reads on. . . . Sentimental truck! How can a grown man be so silly—writing about the moon and Fritz Kreisler and her Eyes! The same Eyes that looked so dull in the mirror this morning. . . . With growing disgust she reads it through. Finishing, she tears it across... . Ah, Mr. Hays! Here is a real chance to distinguish yourself. Quicker postal service—yes. Special Delivery letters specially delivered—by all means! Wireless phones in every house—sure, if you like... . But first do some- thing about delivering letters at the Psychological Moment ! Many of us would be willing to pay a good deal extra to have letters we write at midnight delivered at midnight, and letters we write in the morning delivered before noon. Edward Hope. comicbooks.com