Life, 1922-06-15 · page 31 of 36
Life — June 15, 1922 — page 31: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two distinct pieces: **"Are We Growing Too Serious?"** — A satirical editorial lamenting that Americans have become obsessed with buying serious, expensive new books (biographies, histories) while neglecting fiction and literature. The author blames this trend on visits from G.K. Chesterton and popularity of works like "The Outline of History," suggesting Americans need humor to counteract this "disease." **"A Telephone City"** — A Bell System corporate advertisement disguised as editorial content. It visualizes the company's vast real-estate holdings by imagining a city composed of one-fifth of Bell's 1,600 buildings. The piece touts the system's $144 million investment and modern infrastructure, implicitly promoting the company's dominance and stability. **"Historical Item"** — A satirical piece about Prohibition-era bootleggers erecting a monument to Andrew Volstead (who sponsored Prohibition legislation). The joke: organized criminals are publicly celebrating the law that made their business profitable, with absurdist details like sympathetic wreaths from whisky dealers. All three pieces reflect 1920s concerns: reading habits, corporate power, and Prohibition's perverse effects.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Are We Growing Too Serious? HAT the American people are falling under the curious hypno- tism of tle serious new book at five dollars is becoming convincingly evident. They won’t touch the classics any more than ever; but in- tense critical works, searching biog- raphies, and original histories, so long as they are new, find impatient readers !y the thousands. The seri- ous book ‘s the fashion ; and through- out the lind the libraries and book- stores ¢ proof of the mad desire to absor!: the purposeful and new. The epidemic began with a mild form of infection from Chesterton's visit, grew worse when “The Out- line of ‘listory” began to be read, and reached alarming proportions with reen Victoria.” In fact, umunities have gone quite nsane over the Victorian id only the rapid publica- lew ones has prevented a in more than one whole « gravely books, tion of mental town. One of the serious symptoms of this national malady is the universal willingness of the people who pro- tested the two-dollar novel to pay five or ten dollars for a biography or history, if new and properly ex- ploited Meanwhile, literature languishes. We have become too serious. The question is, must the disease run its course or can it be arrested by in- jections of the standard antidote of humor? The situation demands in- risis Only one-fifth of the buildings owned by the Bell System are shown in this picture. | A Telephone City Above is an imaginary city, made by grouping together one- fifth of the buildings owned by the Bell System, and used in telephone service. Picture to yourself a city five times as great and you will have an idea of the amount of real estate owned by the Bell System throughout the country. If all these buildings were largest investment of the Bell System is in its 1,600 modern buildings, with a value of $144,- 000,000. Ranging in size from twenty-seven stories down to one-story, they are used princi- pally as executive offices, cen- tral offices, storehouses and garages. The modern construc- tion of most of the buildings is indicated by the fact that the investment in buildings is now grouped together, they would make a business community with 400 more buildings than the total number of office buildings in New York City, as classified by the Department of Taxes and Assessments. over three times what it was ten years ago. telligent action. McC.cH. Every building owned by the Bell System must be so con- structed and so situated as to serve with efficiency the tele- plone public in each locality, and to be a sound investment for future requirements. Next to its investment in modern telephone equipment, the “BELL SYSTEM” AMERICAN TELEPHONE AND TELEGRAPH COMPANY AND ASSOCIATED COMPANIES ‘J One Policy, One System, Universal Service, and all directed toward Better Service Open in June | Continuous music. Bub- bling gayety; sparklin life. Cool, refreshin; ke we be to-day? Every yacht that we sail on, every palatial residence that we inhabit, testifies to his genius.” From the Amalgamated Order of Scotch Whisky Dealers of Canada Historical Item ESTERDAY afternoon a vast crowd assembled to witness the ceremonies attendant upon the un- veiling of the great Volstead monu- y ment by the Bootleggers’ League of came a beautiful floral wreath with America. In his eloquent unveiling the sympathetic inscription: “No speech the president of the Boot- border line shall balk us!” leggers’ League said, among other things: of the whole afternoon came when “Our great benefactor will need no Mr. Volstead rose to reply. So introduction to posterity. This mon- overcome was he with emotion that ument is only our humble tribute. all he could say was: Indeed, without him, where would “Boys, all this is on me.” ensures you the ultimate in per- fectly equipped cars and trained hauffeurs for touring in Europe city hire One of the most dramatic moments nd_England or fo: London and Paris, More nomical and sat! tion apply taking your own to any tour- Daimler-Hire Ltd. ist. agency 244Madison Ave., New York City For informa- or direct to Phone Vanderbilt 8940 comicbooks.com