Life, 1923-08-30 · page 4 of 36
Life — August 30, 1923 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon, captioned "It's only going to get one coat," depicts a man precariously balanced atop a tall ladder, arms flailing as he appears to lose his footing. The image satirizes inadequate or cheap workmanship—the single coat of paint presumably representing shoddy, economical work that won't last. The "Life Lines" column contains brief satirical commentary on contemporary topics: mentions of Underwood, Smith, and Ford as presidential candidates; complaints about industrial working conditions (Ambridge steel workers); and critiques of frivolous wealth (the Prince of Wales changing clothes frequently). The "On Collections" section humorously catalogs obsessive collecting habits, poking fun at those who hoard trivial objects. The overall tone reflects early 20th-century American satirical magazine conventions—punchy social criticism and light mockery of politics and modern life.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
FAMOUS SAYINGS “It’s ONLY GOING TO GET ONE COAT.” On Collections URELY the business of amassing any given group of objects is a curious one, prompted, doubtless, by the desire of ownership, and nourished through force of habit. I have known many collectors, and among the most interesting I recall those who have been attracted solely by the bizarre. Thus .would their accumulations con- sist entirely of door knobs, of bottle stoppers, of cigar bands, of fish hooks, of plugged nickels, of railway maps, of button hooks, of can open- ers, of alarm clocks, of colored pencils, of hat checks, of locks of hair of former flames, of umbrella handles, of chewing gum wrappers. “2 However trivial to the out- sider, each held a specific and unique value for the possessor. One of the most remarkable of the lot was that of a young man who had formed the habit of collecting forged checks. He was an ingenuous, naive, simple sort of fellow, and, above all, an extraor- dinarily gullible one. C.G.S. HE: Why do you come to this atro- cious Russian restaurant? SHE: To get my Muscovitamines. Life Lines ITH Underwood, Smith and Ford mentioned for President, it looks like a season of machine poli- tics UL Oliver Cromwell up to date: Trust in God and keep your steamships dry. JL Now that the steel workers of Am- bridge, Pa., are to have a golf cours of their own, their wives will doubt- less wish the company had stuck to the twelve-hour day. , aL Any man that changes his clothes six times in five hours, like the Prince o Wales, must be a hero to his valet. JL Prayer of the Building Trades Em- ployers’ New York “Give us this day our daily bri JL George Harvey is returning to his post. The Vermont sap will soon bi flowing over in London. IL Seven thousand flivvers a day means 28,000 tires. Ford is the cause of most of our inflation, after all. aL One woman has sued for divorce be- catise her husband played solitaire ali evening, and another has sued for divorce because her husband wouldn't play poker with her. You can’t win. Association of aL Hiram Johnson is for stepping on the World Court with spiked shoes. aL It is a grave mistake to suppose that a nation has a stable government because some of its legislators are asses. aL Bathing by radio is the latest Parisian popular pastime. . We hope that nobody will be swept away by an extra heavy wave length. aL According to a newspaper report, a Connecticut fisherman recently caught a three-pound bass which had a hen’s egg in its However, the poor fellow’s day was spoiled because the egg didn’t diamond ring. stomach. contain a JL Frank A. Munsey is spending the summer in Europe,,but so far La Vie Parisienne has not been consolidated with the New York Herald. comicbooks.com