Life, 1924-08-14 · page 25 of 36
Life — August 14, 1924 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is satirical commentary on small-town hypocrisy and social climbing. J. Fishooks Fenwick, a self-made millionaire from the fictional town "Boobville," returns for Old Home Week. The joke: his hometown's leading citizens—his former teacher, employer, and local constable—all testify he was stupid, lazy, and destined for prison. Yet Fenwick has become wildly successful and now erects statues of himself throughout town. The satire cuts both ways. The townspeople are portrayed as small-minded and envious, yet Fenwick himself admits his only reason for returning is "fearful vanity"—acknowledging his hometown consists of "sycophants" willing to honor his statues. The cartoon mocks both provincial narrow-mindedness and nouveau-riche egotism, suggesting success sometimes comes to the undeserving, while those left behind resent it bitterly.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
\WH N J. Fishooks Fenwick, Boob- ville’s most famous son, returned his native town for Old Home ck, the Boobville Weekly Disaster \denly experienced a rush of blood to head and reported the festivities as lows: LOCAL BOY'S RISE HAILED AS FLUKE Old Residents Admit They Expected Millionaire Fenwick to End in Jail |. Fisnooks Fenwick, multimillion- e manufacturer and two-bit philan- opist, needs no introduction to Boob- Ne folk, although one might “think herwise after seeing him giving his | friends the absent-minded treatment. spite his gifts to the community of cight-ton statue of himself, a four- 1 statue of his father, a two-ton itue of his grandfather and several her atrocities, he remains to the Old ks just a big, ugly bully, whose ceess in life is the last thing they er looked for, On the oceasion of Mr. Fenwick's re- rn for Old Home Week, the Weekl: isaster gathered {rom leading res: nts expressions of their opinion. “He was always a surly, unruly boy; ne of the most stupid I ever encoun- cred,” said Miss Priscilla Boneface, his ormer teacher. “I am frank to admit ! favored sending him to a school for SOME THOUGHTS FOR OLD HOME WEEK Truth Crushed to Press— mental defectives. So far as I am con- cerned, that still goes.” Grocer Higgins, who gave the multi- millionaire his first job, was equally outspoken, “T fired Fenwick after a week's work because he couldn't tell a case of eggs from a cauliflower,” he observed. “How he ever got by is a mystery to me.” “L would just as soon have bet my old bay mare could beat Man o’ War ina mile race as say Fishooks Fenwick would not be hung before he was thirty,” was what Constable Hewhead ( My, er, (AM OG. ig MON ok TOP OF THE MORNING had to add. “I never expected him to rise any higher than trusty in the State Prison,” Mr. Fenwick himself came to the office of the Weekly Disaster and in- sisted upon having a statement printed. “You can say for me,” it read, “that I would rather be anywhere than in Boobville. I hate the place. Even if [ had no business interests to keep me away, I would never come here if it were not for my fearful vanity. This is the only town on the face of the carth whose people are such sycophants as to allow me to crect a statue of my- self in the public square.” A good time was had by all. James K, McGuinness. Quatrain OVE should be young, Wine old, Love warm, Wine cold. Company ISITOR at tHe Zoo: I under- stand fifteen thousand people come here every week. Keerer: Yes, sir; and you can't imagine how it cheers the animals up. IERE’S nothing more lonely than a summer resort in winter, unless it’s a summer resort in summer. comicbooks.com