Life, 1922-05-25 · page 14 of 34
Life — May 25, 1922 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page from *Life* magazine discusses **Prohibition-era censorship**. The header "Deleted by the Censor" explains that the Eighteenth Amendment (Prohibition) enabled censorship of any content mentioning banned beverages or "traffic therein." The editor shows censored proofs of a fishing story, with words struck out and replaced with italicized alternatives—for example, "cooked" instead of a beverage reference, "Mike Smith" replacing a name, "rainy" substituting for "wet," and "complete word" censoring "Phebus (gins)." The accompanying illustrations appear to be satirical cartoons of fantastical creatures, likely mocking the absurdity of such heavy-handed editorial control. The satire's point: **Prohibition censorship was so excessive it required ridiculous editorial gymnastics**, making ordinary writing incomprehensible while supposedly protecting public morals.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
A Mountain Fastness we es” a 4 N Alice at \ y m Deleted by the Censor HE Eighteenth Amendment was only an opening wedge, Following it, as you know, came a censorship engineered by a small, militant minority which interdicted the use of any word which might in any way suggest certain pro- hibited beverages or the traffic therein. I had sent the following few lines concerning a fishing trip to the Editor of Open Spaces, a magazine devoted to out-of-doors life. It is, as you can see, entirely unpre. tentious—a mere incident of the kind such periodicals like to print. I reproduce the proofs which the editor was good enough to send to me for correction before going to press. The changes are the work of the censor. FISH HOW I TOOK A RECORD (BASS) ville The train drew into South(port) and I descended, \ear- fat man in uniform ing my bags and rod case. A (stout) (porter) re- lieved me of my impediments and conducted me to the little cooked inn where I made a hasty breakfast of (stewed) fruit, eggs Mike — Smith and coffee. There at the door was old (Tom) (Collins) Milkytea who always drove me down to the (Brandywine). What a rainy morning! The night had been (wet) and the air was like grape juice. brimming (wine). The river was (full) and glistening in the morn- ing sun. If ever the average man is poetical it is at such use complete word an hour when “Phoebus (’gins) arise.” I hoped the fish would do as much. Being somewhat old-fashioned | still submerged dark red clung to (wet) flies and so, choosing a (claret)-colored Montreal I made my first cast from the edge of a sand- j spit. (bar). A sudden swirl in the dark waters and then, by § Hygeia, (Bacchus), he struck and set the line humming. Hither and yon he rushed, tugging like a demon. A four-pounder at least! Then a sulk on the bottom followed by a dash impending toward the weeds. Trouble was (brewing). Slowly | drew (edged) him into deep water, my old 5-oz. Leonard holding winding . him up to it beautifully, At last, (reeling) him slowly in tired delete I almost brought him to net, (groggy) but (still) fighting. good : I had a (full) view of him as he came to the top of the amazed water and I was (paralyzed) at his size. Slowly I slipped the net under him and then the treacherous bank caved in beneath me and I found myself struggling in the stream me of br mc comicbooks.com