Life, 1923-10-25 · page 14 of 34
Life — October 25, 1923 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon depicts a domestic scene where a woman asks a man (labeled "Willie") why he's grumbling. He responds that he was "just practicing"—implying he's rehearsing complaints. The accompanying article, "Confidence Is Everything," discusses George Bond Truepenny, a prominent banker at Safety Center who recently died. The text reveals Truepenny's executors discovered his personal securities included questionable investments: 500 shares in a "Woolless Woolen Leg Manufacturing Company," and various other dubious holdings (glass cross-eyes, insoluble leather products, mechanical powder puffs). The satire targets misplaced investor confidence in financial "wizards" who give bad advice. The cartoon's "practicing" complaint mirrors the article's theme: people blindly trust authority figures without questioning—whether in marriage or investing—even when the advice proves worthless.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Confidence Is Everything 700 shares of the Gla facturers of glass cross: 1,000 shares of the Insoluble Sole Leather Corpor: EORGE BOND TRUEPENNY, our prominent Main Street banker, Banker Truepenny’s death will prove a great loss to financial circles in Safety Center. He was the one man in whom our citizens had the greatest possible confidence in all matters relating to real estate values, mortgages, stocks, bonds and_invest- ment Any widow who was left with a small inheritance or her failed to take George Bond Truepenny’s advice about investing her funds, and felt perfectly safe in doing so. He was always considered the financier par excellence of Satety Center. It was even rumored that railroad presidents. corporation executives died recently, urities. husband's insurance never and the presidents of great metropolitan banks would often consult the financial wizard of Safety Center. Indeed, his judgment in all money matters was regarded as infallible, and his advice invaluable. However, the executors of Truepenny’s will, on check- ing up the securities in his strong box at the Safety Center Security Bank and Trust Company, of which he was President for so many years, found the following listed among his personal securities : 500 shares of the Woodless Wooden Leg Manuiactur- ing Company of America. Corporation, eyed persons. mani yes for cro tion for the manufacture of sole leather from sharks skins. For two years the sharks took to deep water, at so skins were not obtainable and the project failed. 600 shares of the Madame Pompadour Mechanical Pow der Puff Co., manufacturing a patent powder puff th applied the powder by means of compr Con pressed-air too expensive to maintain every drug store, and consequently the project failed There were several other investments of like characte and yet. in spite of these holdings, every one in Safet Center will tell you that the late George Bond Truc penny was a safe and conservative banker who could giv the Wall Street crowd some fine points. George W. Heaven Through Dry Eyes T. PETER: Give an account of yourself, sir. Appiicant: I broke all the Commandments, the Cor stitution of my country and seventeen Amendments tryin: to enforce the Eighteenth. “Pass right in.” sed air. stations were Lyon. comicbooks.com