Life, 1923-02-22 · page 24 of 36
Life — February 22, 1923 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon mocks skiing as a dangerous sport—a skier tumbles uncontrollably down a slope while another skier watches. The caption "Now I know why they're called 'shees'" is a pun: skis sound like "she's" (as in "she is"), suggesting the sport makes one exclaim feminine expressions of distress. The "Bulletin" section satirizes the 1920s trend of college graduates entering bond sales with minimal preparation. Life ridicules this by presenting absurd "interview questions" for aspiring bond salesmen: golf scores matter more than finance knowledge; candidates should know the difference between "gilt edge" and "silver lining" (wordplay on investment terms); selling to widows and clergymen are presented as equivalent challenges. The satire targets both the young men's shallow ambitions and the financial industry's apparent lack of rigorous standards—anyone could apparently sell bonds if they golfed well and belonged to the right clubs.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Ski’s the Limit “Now I know why they're called ‘shees’.” Bulletin from Our School of Finance VERY year a large percentage of the brightest and best-dressed young men in the graduating classes of our colleges, when asked what line of work they intend to take up, say: “Oh, I guess I'll sell bonds.” Often, in fact too often, this is no idle threat. The young men do sell bonds. In many cases, however, they fail through lack of definite preparation. They mean well, but there is no one to tell them what to study and what not to study. Our questionnaire is intended to guide them in their choice of subjects, so that they may enter their careers with that techni- cal equipment which is now consider- ed indispensable to every calling, be it ever so humble, Here are some of the more signifi- cant questions: What is your golf score? average. ) State the difference between good bonds and bonded goods. What type of security would you offer to (a) a widow? (b) a grass widow? (c) a clergyman? (d) a fraternity brother? What preliminary steps would you take to swing a deal in Canadian non-refillable 12's? Indicate, in your own words, some of the differences between a gilt edge and a silver lining. What clubs do you, or might you, belong to? (1922 Who said: “Give me Liberties « give me death !"? . State at least three arguments against knitted ties. S.K Roundel to My 1916 Car T goes, although its din Would scare away the crows, And though it’s mostly tin, It goes. I shiver in my skin To feel its anguished throes Each time I take a spin, It goes. So; though it hurts like sin (It shouldn't, I suppose), If I can trade it in, It goes. B. 1, comicbooks.com