Life, 1923-12-13 · page 5 of 36
Life — December 13, 1923 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical poem by Ruth Lambert Jones mocks 1920s moral panic and restrictive social movements. The cartoon shows a tailor fitting a woman while a man observes—illustrating the poem's critique of various prohibition-era concerns. The satire targets: - **Temperance/Prohibition advocates** ("Wassail! Wassail! Drink nothing but water") - **Censorship movements** ("Health Leagues will snipe it," "Vice Leagues might dislike it") - **Moral policing** of everyday activities—reading, smoking, clothing choices The "Polite Costumer" caption suggests ironic commentary on how fashion itself faced moral scrutiny. The poem's final lines about "freedom intact" and "Christmas taxes" suggest frustration with government overreach and moral busybodies restricting innocent pleasures during the post-WWI era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Polite Costumer: OH, YES, YOU ARE EXACTLY OF THE PERIOD, A Canticle of Christmas, 1923 IHRISTMAS is short, When buying your goose, With its joys growing shorter. For its vitamines choose it Wassail! Wassail! Drink nothing but water. Holly has none, so be sure you don’t use it. Away with your pipe There's just one act Or Health Leagues will snipe it. Where freedom intact is Don’t read a book; Vice Leagues might dislike it. Merrily still you may pay Christmas taxes. Ruth Lambert Jones. comicbooks.com