Life, 1922-04-27 · page 14 of 34
Life — April 27, 1922 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes a murder trial through the commentary of jurors. The title references the legal concept of trial "by a jury of his peers," but Life's satire suggests jurors are distracted, incompetent, and self-interested rather than serious arbiters of justice. The jurors discuss: avoiding jury duty, financial calculations, gambling on horses, baseball statistics, and social plans—anything except the actual case. One mentions a Babe Ruth baseball game; another calculates stock dividends. The illustration shows a coffin delivery scene, with the caption joke: "Gee! Jimmy, what is it?" / "Sh-h! The orchestra's croaked!" The satire mocks both jurors' frivolousness and American popular culture's distraction from serious civic duties. The coffin imagery emphasizes the life-or-death stakes they're ignoring.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE A Jury of His Peers Judge and jury were moved by the impassioned plea of counsel for the defense. They hung on his every word—From a newspaper account of the trial. HE JUDGE (in dignified thought): Hope Martin un- covers some of that old Bourbon to-night. , Couldn't stand .his drooling talk otherwise. It surely is potent Bour- bon. Well, one lives in hope. Foreman (staring moodily at defendant): If I could get the knack of keeping my head down I'd be all right. Bill Spurgeon got it that time he had a stiff neck. I wish some- thing like that would happen to me. Then I'd surely break 100 and Thompson wouldn't be able to crow over me all the time. Distance from the tee is all I need to show some of those birds a thing or two. Keeping my head down, that’s all I need now—and a little better work on my approach shots and a steadier game on the greens. That's all. Number Two (simulating intelligent interest): This trial is just like a movie. What was that one I saw with the missus the other night? Oh, yeh! “In Defense of Her Honor.” I wonder how they think up all those things they put in the movies. It’s a gift, I guess. Those guys must get a lot of money for that sort of stuff. Number TuRreE (registering horror): This fellow surely deserves the electric chair. hurry up and get it over. Guilty as sin. I wish they'd Suppose I'll have to start going to the dentist's again now. Good Lord, how I dread that, Numser Four (winking at court attendant): Wonder if 3abe Ruth got a homer to-day. Numper Five (shooting a dagger barrage at the judge): Just shows what those politicians are. The district leader promised to fix it so I wouldn’t have to serve. I’m off the Democratic party for life. Numper Six (counting on fingers): If I bought 300 Moonbeam Oil at eighteen and I pyramided every point— let’s see. Seven from eighteen leaves eleven. Eleven times three hundred. That’s thirty-three hundred, without figur- ing pyramiding. Oh, baby! I'd have a fortune. Now, if I only had enough to buy those three hundred shares. Numser SEvEN (clenching fists): Ill bet that Garmann mucker has been pestering May to death since I’ve been tied up with this case. Don’t see why she lets him stay around, though. Be hanged if I do. , Numper Ercut (brightening at thought): They'll be running at Jamaica next week. I must get down on Miss Behave when she starts. She looks good for a killing now, About fifty on the nose and fifty to place should put me on velvet for the season. sail és thas “Gee! Jimmy, what is it?” “Sh-h! The orchestra’s croaked!” comicbooks.com