Life, 1924-09-11 · page 13 of 36
Life — September 11, 1924 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes domestic life and stock market anxiety. The "Domestic Felicity" dialogue shows a husband dismissive of newspaper reading, then anxious about Vesuvius and stock prices—specifically "Clemenceau" stock, which is "going down." The wife provides practical perspective, while the husband frets over financial losses. The cartoon below depicts a skeleton (representing Death or ruin) looming over a couple at what appears to be a wash-tub, with the caption about needing "superior sense of humor" while "standin' over a wash-tub" during holiday season—satirizing marital strain and domestic drudgery. The page reflects early 20th-century concerns: stock market volatility, marital tension, and class anxiety. "Clemenceau" likely references French political/economic news of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE « Domestic Felicity Scene: Any household. Cuaracters: Any husband and any wife. Husband (looking up from his paper): Did you sec that Vesuvius is in eruption again? Wire (not at all excited) : Is it? Hussann: Don't you ever read anything in the paper hesides the department store ads.? Wire: Oh, there’s nothing much worth reading in th papers, Huspann (with heavy sarcasm): Oh, there isn't, isn’t here? Only history being made and here you are—a woman vith a vote—not knowing a thing about what's going on. CH her the newspaper.) Wire (after a few seconds): Who is Herriot, dearic? Huspanp (without looking up from his work): Huh? Oh, Herriot. New French premier. Wi What did they need a new one for, if Clemenceau was so good? sp: Clemenceau’s been out for years, You don’t tell me. (She reads, feeling a bit ved beccuse no one troubled to tell her that Clemen- cau had gone.. minute later.) Dearie— Huspaxp (frowning impatiently): What do you want now? Wire: It says the mark is going down again. where Huspanp: Er—that means that it's just—just—why, just going down. It had been going up, but now it’s going down. See? Wire. (very sure of this) : No. Huspanp (trying to keep his place in his check book Down “YEZ MUST HAVE A VERY SUPERIOR SENSE 0’ HUMOR, HOIMAN. ME STANDIN’ OVER A WASH-TUB FOR A WEEK, AN’ THIS IS THE HOLIDAY 1 GET.” ANOTHER COAST-TO-COAST BUG sith his forefinger): It means that the mark isn't worth o-day as much as it was worth yesterday. Wire: But the mark is money, isn't it?) Then how can it he worth less to-day than it was yesterday? Huspann (muttering under his breath): Well, it can, because it doesn’t buy as much as it did. (Blank silence for a minute, then she laughs heartily.) Wire: I see now, you're joking. The mark is moricy just as the dollar is mor ‘ould the dollar be worth less to-day than it was yesterd: (He could reply, bu at's the use? Silence.) Wire: Dearie. (He shivers, and beads of perspiration ap- fear on his brow.) Dearie, what do they mean by a gentle- men's agreement? Hussanp (fo himself): Oh, my God! (To her.) That means a sort of unwritten treaty. Wire: Have we gentlemen's countries? Huspanp: No; we only had one with Japan. Wire: That's surprising, isn’t it? You wouldn't think they'd consider the Japs more gentlemanly than some of the European nations, would you? It says the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate is very indignant with the Pres- ident. Does that mean that Senators all have foreign relatives and that—— (Mercifully the bell rings, and when she goe it, he carefully folds the paper and hides it under the sofa cushions.” The subject isn’t men- agreements with all out to ans tioned again.) Bertram Bloch, Neo — Modern KCHITECT: And what style of architecture do you wish for your new house? Mrs. Newty-Ricu latest style? What is the HILDREN should be seen and not heard, unless they grow up into opera singers, when they should be heard and not seen. comicbooks.com