Life, 1922-01-12 · page 10 of 34
Life — January 12, 1922 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This story satirizes stock market speculation during the early 20th century. A sharp young man enters a broker's office and makes extraordinary profits through margin trading—buying and selling stocks on borrowed money at inflated prices. Within three days, he turns a small profit into thousands of dollars while the market climbs dramatically. Two asylum keepers then arrive, revealing he's an escaped patient they've been hunting. The joke's dark irony: his "brilliant" trading success was actually the reckless behavior of a mentally unstable person. The satire mocks both the speculator's overconfidence and the absurdity of a bull market where anyone—even the insane—could profit through reckless gambling disguised as shrewd investing.
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The Brain That Did It E entered the broker’s office, a smartly dressed, alert bright-eyed young man, and produced a perfectly good century note. “Buy me ten Bingo preferred at the mar. ket!” he said, and laid down his margin. Bingo had been sluggish all day, but it soon took a favor. able turn. So did the whole market. The young man soon had enough profit to margin another ten. The upward [ climb continued. The young man did some fancy pyramid- ing. At the end of three days he had, with the soaring bull market, cleaned up five thousand dollars, and stocks were still going up by leaps and bounds. Everyone else in the room had been jumping in and sell. J ing short, then covering at a loss, then jumping in at a higher figure and selling at a loss again. They were afraid [ to buy, thinking each new quotation was the top. The smartly dressed young man was the only winner in a room full of old margin traders. It was at this point that two keepers came quietly into | the room and took the young man away. They explained Customer: Even though you've shaved off your mus- that he had escaped from the asylum three days previous, tache and have on a false wig, I recognize you as the and that they had been searching for him ever since. barkeeper who used to mix my cocktails before Ryan’s W.S. lace was closed up! oa Pp Soda Clerk: Sh-hh! You're right, sir; but promise Tue gentleman in the subway train is always recognized me if you see any of the old gang you won't tell them 5 the disgrace I’ve fallen into. by his get-up. “What's th’ matter, Jimmy?” “Darned if I know whether it’s a pungcher er a blow-out.” comicbooks.com