Life, 1923-05-31 · page 8 of 37
Life — May 31, 1923 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon:** A humorous domestic scene showing a man with a spear and military helmet, surrounded by children in primitive-style clothing. The caption reads: "Why did you get a new stenographer?" / "The old one was always hitting her finger." This is workplace humor playing on the stereotype that stenographers (typists) frequently hit their fingers while operating manual typewriters—a common occupational hazard. The absurd military fantasy context adds comedic exaggeration to justify replacing an employee. **Bottom Cartoon ("Spring Chickens"):** Depicts a large bird labeled "HENNERY" surrounded by buildings labeled "FORD" and "FOR PROHIBITION," with small chicks nearby. This appears to satirize commercial enterprise around poultry farming, possibly referencing Ford's industrial methods or Prohibition-era entrepreneurship. **Text Section:** "Reminiscences of New York" discusses changes in Manhattan since 1910, mentioning Broadway theaters and nostalgia for earlier eras.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WW \ “Why did you get a new stenographer?” mee cea lS ot ag “The old one was always hitting her finger.” FIRST set eyes on New York City in 1910. Six years later I collaborated with a man from San- dusky, Ohio, in preparing “An Old New Yorker’s Recollections of the Bowery” for a popular weekly magazine. The West is the land of oppor- tunity. I have heard that said very often and have seen it proved a Reminiscences of New York When I was last in New York, a man could sit all day in the lounge of the Yale Club without seeing a single poet or novelist. They say it is quite different now. I never saw a Broadway first night. But I was once present on the second night of a play, and have since concluded, after a short number of times. But one after- Z noon in New York three of us started for the circus, couldn't get within a block of the Garden (we had forgotten it was a Jewish holi- day), arrived at the ball park ‘in time to hear the game called off on account of cold weather, and wound up in front of the Winslow Homer water colors in the Brook- lyn art museum. That particular sequence of opportunity would be impossible in any part of the West with which I am familiar. New York, I understand, has changed lots since 1919, But I ex- pect there are a few landmarks left. As, for instance, some of the shirt stores on Fourteenth Street that were closing out last time I saw them because their owners were retiring from business. For Presit For>~— wr tussle with my conscience, that the difference of one night isn’t enough to spoil a good story. “First Night Impressions” is now a popular fea- ture of my repertoire. I remember telling a man who was born in Brooklyn where to go to get an Erie train. Stoddard King. : Oy ‘t , G. + b WZZM Spring Chickens comicbooks.com