Life, 1924-07-03 · page 24 of 36
Life — July 3, 1924 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces poking fun at early 1920s American life: **"My Husband Says"** mocks tourists from the provinces visiting New York City. The humor centers on a country woman's naive wonder at taxis (compared to "canaries"), expensive hotels with deliberately uncomfortable furnishings, and theater prices—while her husband fixates on costs. **"Walk In"** is a brief joke equating bootleggers with politicians, referencing Prohibition-era corruption where illegal liquor dealers operated openly with impunity, much like politicians who never waited in anterooms. **"Celebrating the '4th'"** satirizes Independence Day celebrations becoming impossible. Each traditional element (parades, shows, sports, guns, bells, bonfires, illuminations) faces modern obstacles: traffic congestion, standardization problems, Prohibition laws, and fire marshal regulations. This reflects post-WWI American anxiety about progress and regulation. The bottom cartoon references the "bobbed-haired bandit"—a contemporary criminal figure—showing children's games now mimicking modern crime rather than traditional cops-and-robbers play.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
~ LIFE - He: WELL, ANYHOW, YOUR ENVELOPES CAME UP NICELY. My Husband Says THAT a trip to New York is highly enervating as well as entertaining, and the taxi service is second to none. I thought the taxis looked like great flocks of canaries, and I just adored the thrill of flying around corners in them and back to the hotel for forty cents. My husband says it is the only thrill you can buy at the price. I loved the hotels, too, and he says that even the ceilings are high, and they stuff one pillow with hay to make us people from the country feel more at home. But I think they do it to make the top ones look more impos- ing. They have _ perfectly heavenly shows that never come to Boston. Of course, they start much later than our stock com- pany docs at home; but he says that New Yorkers never go to bed until the next day, and he thinks twelve dollars and ten cents is a lot to pay just for two tickets. I was sorry, too, because he said I could have the change back from the ten-dollar bill he first gave the ticket man. L. Blanche Simpson. Walk In RAWFORD: Who was that man who said he was never kept waiting in anterooms? Some big politician? CrapsHaw: legger. No; boot- Celebrating the “4th” HE “4th” is becoming just another one of those holidays when we don’t know what to do. Old John Adams made a few simple suggestions as to celebration shortly after the inauguration of Independence Day, recommending “pomp and parade, with shows, games, sports, guns, bells, bonfires and illuminations.” But nowadays every one of those must be counted out thus: Suggestion Pomp ...eeeee Parade Difficulty «. Tough on the taxpayers Plays the deuce with traffic ‘ket speculators Shows ......+ seeccesccseceeee These blamed Mah Jong rules aren't standardized yet Games Sports ......sseeeeeeeePrice of ringside seats. Usual superiority of the visiting team Guns .......sse.2+ee+++Nobody dares have a gun now ex- cept gunmen Bells .......2.+eeee00++ 100 likely to start amateur clocu- tionists reciting Poe's poem Bonfires ......5 seeeeeeFire marshal, Conservation of next winter's kindling wood Illuminations ..........Eighteenth Amendment Fairfax Downey. E understand that the newest dance in the Broadway cabaret district is known as the padlock step. “AW, COME AWN, MARY, PLAY COPS.AND ROBBERS WITH US—YOU CAN BE THE BOBBED-HAIRED BANDIT,” comicbooks.com