Life, 1922-11-02 · page 10 of 40
Life — November 2, 1922 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a satirical cartoon about generational conflict. An elderly father confronts his daughter about her cigarette smoking, calling it a "deprecable" habit. She responds sarcastically that a pipe would be "much less harmful"—inverting his moral position to mock his hypocrisy. The cartoon reflects early 20th-century anxieties about women's changing social behavior. Female smoking was considered scandalous and "modern" (linked to the flapper era), while paternal pipe-smoking was normalized. The daughter's retort exposes this double standard. Below the cartoon, text discusses Millennium preparations for Life magazine's upcoming event, listing items and speakers to be eliminated or included. The page mixes entertainment content with social satire typical of Life's editorial approach.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Father (bracing himself): I must say, Marjory, I thoroughly deprecate this—er—cigarette ten- dency among you young women. Daughter (sternly): What do you mean, Father? Father (weakening): Why—er—why—ah—I—I think a pipe would be much less harmful. Preparing for the Millennium S the Millennium is expected to arrive any minute now, the Committee on Arrangements is busily at work preparing a program for the ideal state. It is a large order, as there are so many people to be pleased, and so many different varieties of tastes to be considered. Some people want one form of perfection, some want another—and it is all very confusing. It is essential, however, that everyone be satisfied; otherwise the Millennium will be a flop. There must be no complaints. Following is a list of objects, individuals and institu- tions which are scheduled for immediate elimination when this faulty world is annexed by Utopia. The straw ballot at the present time indicates that none of them will be missed : Upper berths . . . Russian art . . . Eamon de Valera ... Papertowels . . . the Eighteenth Amendment . . . people who say they never thought of taking a drink until the Eighteenth Amendment went into effect . . . Harry M. Daugherty . . . rice pudding . . . popu- lar song lyrics . . . the younger generation in litera- ture . . . after-dinner speeches . . . Gertrude Stein . one hundred per cent. Americans . . . synthetic Scotch . . . charts (efficiency, weather and tempera- ture) . . . the collected works of Etigar A. Guest +». ectoplasms . . . Eskimo Pies . . . Clare Sheridan . . . inspirational talks by business men . . . professional New Yorkers . . . professional Californians . . . studio teas . . . peuple who talk about their dreams . . . conferences . . . Sunday papers . . . and wall mottoes. The Committee on Arrangements will be glad to re- ceive additions to this list, provided they are delivered before the curtain rises on the first act of the Millen- nium, After that, of course, there will be no more committees. RE. S. comicbooks.com