Life, 1923-12-20 · page 33 of 36
Life — December 20, 1923 — page 33: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page mixes satire with advertising, typical of Life's format. **The Satire**: The "Christmas Mail" section mocks military bureaucracy. A letter to Santa Claus requests an "army appropriation" with "Congressmen capable of passing it"—satirizing how the War Department frames budget requests as Christmas gifts. A follow-up from "A. Busy Man" asks Santa for "lots more time" for golf, poking fun at officials prioritizing leisure over serious work. **The Advertisement**: The General Electric ad romanticizes industrial work as modern heroism, claiming 100,000 workers find meaning in manufacturing rather than warfare. The headline "And I am with the doers" reframes factory labor as noble conquest, replacing military ambition with industrial ambition. **The Context**: This appears post-WWI, when Life contrasts outdated military glory with industrial progress as America's new frontier. The page also includes a hair product advertisement unrelated to the satire.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
In the Christmas Mail Scnyect: Christmas Present. Santa Claus, Cmdng North Pole Barracks. 1. It is requested that you supply this office at once with the following: | army appropriation, sufficient, complete with Congressmen apable of passing i The expenditure indi in the military service. War DerartMent, U. S. A. ted is neces- Ss. Claus, th Pole, N. P. Attention S. Claus. k SIR: indly ship us at your earliest con- ence, not later than December 25, . a consignment of lots more time golf. Yrs resptfly, A. BusyMan, Dict. but read. ‘Hair Stays Combed, Glossy Millions Use It - Few Cents Buys Jar at Drugstore HAIR GROOM Keeps Hair Combed Even obstinate, unruly or shampooed hair stays combed all day in any style you like. “Hair-Groom” is a dignified combing cream which gives that natural gloss and well-groomed effect to your hair—that final touch to good dress both in business and on social occasions. “Hair-Groom” is greaseless; also helps grow thick, heavy, lustrous hair. Be- ware of greasy, harmful imitations. Entrance to General Electric Company's works in Schenectady “And I am with the doers” Time was when war called the ambitious and offered life’s great rewards. But the captains and the kings passed. The enduring conquests of our times are being made in industry. Through the wide doors of General Electric plants and offices an army of 100,000 men and women moves every day. Each of them, look- ing back over the road, can say: “Things worth while are being done in my ‘ lifetime, and J am with the doers.” GENERAL ELECTRIC To Ensure “A Merry Christmas to All’’ Give a subscription to LIFE the Gift that means pleasure the whole year through. Christ- mas Card announcing the gift sent upon request. Christmas Offer: Enclosed find Five Dollars (Canadian $5.80, Foreign $6.60). Send Lire for one year to With Chreistmas Card from LIFE, 598 Madison Avenue, New York comicbooks.com