Life, 1923-03-15 · page 12 of 36
Life — March 15, 1923 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical article mocks the obsession with proving one's humanity and credentials. The text argues that in early 20th-century America, everyone claims to be "human"—from politicians to businessmen to hotel clerks—using it as a marketing tool. The article suggests absurdly that even an electric chair operator might claim to be "the most human sort of man." The cartoon at bottom depicts a courtroom scene where an ex-prize fighter (boxer) is being jury-challenged. He dismissively tells the judge he doesn't mind fighting "a couple rounds" with "that fat gemmun in the co'ner," suggesting crude physicality as proof of his humanity. The overall satire critiques how meaningless the word "human" has become as a commercial and social claim.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
* LIFE My, how exteptona/~ @ museum piece you. fe So Human HERE never was such a rush upon the part of practically everybody to join the human race. The way everybody is trying to get into it, you might think it was ter- ribly exclusive. “He’s human!” press agents ex- claim. All the candidates for office are human. All big men in public. of- fice are really very human “when you know them.” Our great busj- ness men are human. And we have editors who are human. “The secret of his success as an editor is that he is so human,” we read. Presi- dent Harding, Vice-President Cool- idge, Rodolph Valentino, and Mickey Walker, the new welterweight cham- pion, are all, all human (underneath, if not on top). We find it out about all of them sooner or later. “It’s human!” the advertisements announce. Plays, magazines, books, department stores—aill are human, or putting it on. “We do our best to keep our business, in spite of its magnitude, human.” Even hotels are human, and one hotel keeper, Statler, has won fame and fortune by doing his best to make hotel clerks human. If a business or product can’t do better, it can, at least, have “the hu- man touch.” It is strange that no one has point- ed out how human, how very hu- man, little children are and how wonderful it is that they should be so human. Why have we over- looked the children? They are so human! And fathers. How human is the proud father of from one to fifteen children. Human father! And mothers. Someone will be calling our attention, next, to the human, the extremely human side of motherhood. Motherhood, after all, is about the humanest of all things. It would not surprise us to read that the electric chair operator at Sing Sing is “the most human sort of man.” Bos People not only Want to join the human race, but they want to be the first to discover that this person or that is eligible. Some can even offer proof. Hardly a day passes on which we do not see photographs showing that some celebrity has home life—and that certainly shows he is human. Maybe the great man will be shown sur- rounded by his wife and children. Human! What is the saying? As human as an old shoe. Is it pessible that there will be so much of this that we shall even- tually have a reaction? Are we ever likely to see the advertisement that “There is nothing human in this book,” or will a candidate for pub- lic office ever be presented with the recommendation “He’s inhuman”? Judge (to defendant): Do you want to challenge any member of the jury? . Ex-Prize Fighter: Ah ain’t feelin’ jes’ right, Judge, but ah don’t mind goin’ a couple of roun’s with that fat gemmun in the co’ner. comicbooks.com