Life, 1922-04-20 · page 23 of 34
Life — April 20, 1922 — page 23: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the lazy stereotypes and clichés that American humor writers repeatedly relied on. The "Creed" lists tired comic premises—mothers-in-law are universally despised, all doctors have beards, lost collar buttons roll under furniture—that had become so formulaic they'd lost genuine wit. The page mocks both the predictability of period humor *and* the ethnic/national stereotypes it casually perpetuated: Englishmen are dull, Russians dirty, Chinese people laundry workers, Black people lazy, Spaniards passionate. The two cartoons above and below reinforce this critique: one shows a child innocently mixing prayer with profanity (mocking sentimental domestic humor), the other depicts a wealthy tourist asking a "Slum Wag" where to find poverty—a jab at patronizing "slumming" narratives that treated urban misery as a tourist attraction rather than genuine human suffering.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“Mamma! Will you make Freddie stop? He asks God to bless me, then he says things under his breath.” The American Humorist’s Creed I Believe: That married men invariably detest their mothers-in-law. * * * That all doctors wear beards. * * * That « collar button, when dropped, is sure to roll under the bureau. * * * That every old lady is nearsighted. ek * That a marriage between an American heiress and a ) foreign nobleman 1s bound to end unhappily. * * * , That all reformers are solemn-visaged, lantern-jawed | iellows. wearing funereal high hats, Prince Albert coats, ) white cotton gloves and white wash ties. * * * That there is no limit to the humorous possibilities in ) Ford cars. * * * | That all Englishmen are dull-witted; all Russians are dirty and unshaven; all Chinamen are in the laundry busi- ne Negroes are lazy, and all Spaniards are unusually Passionate. * * * That a blind beggar is always ready to step out of his tole long enough to take a squint at every pretty, short- skirted woman who passes by. * * * That all golfers are liars. Fair Slummer: Will you please tell me where I can find the misery that I have heard so much about? Slum Wag: We're out of misery just now, kind lady, but we expect a new supply soon. comicbooks.com