Life, 1922-10-12 · page 7 of 36
Life — October 12, 1922 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical pieces from *Life* magazine: **Left side**: "LIFE's Little Platform" lists political campaign promises (Prohibition, Tariff, Foreign Relations, Taxation, Bonus) with tongue-in-cheek brevity, mocking the shallow nature of political platforms. **Right side**: "The Hospital Visitor" is a poem about visiting an invalid, attributed to M.M. **The cartoon** depicts an "Eminent Literary Man" being confronted by a "Young Thing" about his lack of sports interest. The literary man defensively claims he "can play as well as think," while the young man retorts that the author doesn't "let either interfere with your work." The satire mocks intellectual pretension—suggesting the famous writer uses sports disinterest as an affectation to seem more cerebral, while his actual work suffers from neglect. The joke critiques both artistic vanity and the performative nature of intellectual identity.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE’S Little Platform For Congressmen Seeking Re-elec- tion This Is Infallible; Memorize It. Prohibition F re-elected I will work for a rigid I enforcement of the law that will fy the Prohibitionists but will not deprive anybody of plenty to drink. Bonus | will work for the payment of a very large cash bonus to ex-soldiers without increasing taxes or borrow- in: I cannot reveal how this can be done but I shall work for it. Taxation i I am re-elected I will strive to have taxes reduced to the lowest figure compatible with my well- known policy of having plenty of good government jobs for all de- serving party workers. Tariff I will favor a very high low tariff. This never has been attempted. My tariff policy has the merit of orig- inality. Foreign Relations I will stand for intimate foreign relations for six months of the year and for isolation for the other six months. I intend to be absolutely fair and impartial in this important field. M. H. “Do you convince your wife of anything?” “No, old man, but I always find out where I was wrong.” The Hospital Visitor "VE all the equipment I had at my birth; Abnormally normal I dwell on the earth. No part or attachment, though small it might be, Has ever been surgically wrested from me. So here in my corner I’m humble and dumb, While all my companions with whom I have come Cheer up the poor invalid, all too faint-hearted, With tales of how they and their organs were parted. Young Thing: You don’t care for sports at all, do you? Eminent Literary Man: Yes indeed—I can play as well as think, you know. Young Thing: Really! But you don’t let either interfere with your work. comicbooks.com