Life — May 11, 1922 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This page contains a satirical dialogue between "Ben No. 1" and "Ben No. 2" (likely representing different social perspectives) arguing about stock market investment and financial prudence. Ben No. 1 defends buying stocks; Ben No. 2 warns against risk. Below is an illustration and accompanying poem titled "Poem in the American Manner" by D.P. The cartoon depicts two men in a garden—one threatening the other over bees. The caption reads: "Well, I'm warning you! You keep your dashed infernal bees out of my garden or, by thunder, I'll—I'll shoot them!" The satire likely mocks neighborly disputes, property disputes, or the American tendency toward aggressive confrontation over minor grievances. The poem romanticizes simple rural American life in colloquial dialect, possibly satirizing sentimental Americana or populist sentiment.