Life, 1923-07-05 · page 9 of 40
Life — July 5, 1923 — page 9: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate pieces: **"The Quiet Fourth"** (top) describes Fourth of July 1918 celebrations during World War I—muted festivities because soldiers were deployed. References include radio broadcasts of the Declaration of Independence and military gun salutes. **"Job Had Nothing on Him"** (bottom) is a comic sketch satirizing a complaining man named Simpson. The dialogue ridicules his impatience and pessimism, with onlookers mocking his complaints about modern life using period slang ("dang fool daylight savin'"). The lower cartoon depicts street scenes with men in hats debating, likely commentary on post-war social or political discourse. The satire targets chronic complainers and their incessant grievances about contemporary conditions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE The Quiet Fourth ‘HE dawn of the day we celebrate was to have been heralded by a sunrise gun, but the artillerymen held their fire, being uncertain just when sunrise would occur under daylight-saving time. Unusual stillness characterized the early part of the morning, since all of the citizenry on the night before had remembered the coming holiday and shut off their alarm clocks, ** x The usual reading of the Declaration of Independence took place. It was part of the program of Station PDQ. Millions of radio fans, their receiving-set headpieces clamped tightly over their ears, listened with hushed at- tention. aK While flags cracked smartly in the breeze, battleships at anchor in the river fired a national salute from guns equipped with silencers. xe The noisiest demonstrations of the day occurred outside the British Embassy and consulates, where well-man- nered orators delivered patriotic addresses on the subject, Freedom. But all these meetings were suddenly adjourned when the various speakers were invited inside the diplo- matic dwellings to drink a toast. Fairfax Downey. “MAY I USE YOUR TELEPHONE? I MUST CALL UP AND SEE HOW BABY IS, THE PAPER HA PROMISED TO GIVE HIM HIS BOTTLE.” Job Had Nothing on Him “NOU say Simpson is a patient man?” “Patient? Why that man would just as soon use one of these paper lead-pencils as not.” 2G “THER'S JES’ ONE THING THAT'S IN DANGER 0’ SAPPIN’ TH’ MAINSPRINGS 0’ TH’ REPUBLIC AN’ THAT'S THIS HERE HANKERIN’ AFTER ENTANGLIN’ ALLIANCES.” “you SAID IT! AN’ THIS DANG FOOL DAYLIGHT SAVIN’. “EXACTLY, GENTLEMEN ; AN’ IF I MIGHT ADD, THE PREPOSTEROUS DOCTRINE AND FALLACY OF EVOLUTION.” comicbooks.com