Life, 1924-12-11 · page 6 of 36
Life — December 11, 1924 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Main Cartoon ("On Broadway"):** A stranger asks a policeman for a drug store location. The humor satirizes urban anonymity—a cop supposedly knows the neighborhood but must direct someone six blocks away to find a basic service. This reflects early 20th-century city congestion and the proliferation of chain drugstores. **"Book of Etiquette Please Don't Copy":** A guest interrogates a hostess about her silver service's cost, depreciation, and family finances, then demands her husband's income details—claiming Congressional privilege. The satire mocks aggressive nouveau riche behavior and entitled politicians who abuse their status. **"Power of Suggestion":** A drunk mistakes grape juice for wine, illustrating how expectation shapes perception—likely referencing Prohibition-era deception about beverages.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ON BROADWAY Stranger: SAY, OFFICER, CAN YOU TELL ME WHERE I CAN FIND A DRUG STORE? Policeman: UP ON THIS SIDE OF THE STREET, ABOUT SIX PADLOCKS FROM HERE. Book of Etiquette Please Don’t Copy OSTESS: So nice of you to come to my dinner. Gvest: Wasn't it? What does an af- fair like this cost you? Hostess: I don't believe I quite un- derstand. Guest: Answer later. like to know the original cost, to- gether with estimate on subsequent depreciation, of this silver service. Hostess: Why — why, it's an heir- loom. Guest: You are evading. By the way, what do you pay the servants? Hostess: I should prefer not to dis- cuss: Guest: But you must. Now tell me what your husband makes, what you spend on clothes, how mich the rent is, if you're considering a divorce and why I should also you haven't had more children. Also give me a detailed statement of your family budget and your personal habits. Hostess: Sir! This is an outrage! Who— Guest: It’s perfectly all right, madam. I have a right to receive such information and to publish it in. the newspapers. You seem to forget that I'm a Congressman. No Curtatx Fairfax Downey. Power of Suggestion UB: Wasn't that wine in the bottle at your place? Dus: No. Nothing but grape juice. Rus: Wish I'd known that. I've been acting like a darn fool for two hours. New Ballade of Things Known (With ackn dgments intended as atonement to angois Villon, who would have known better.) KNOW “to signify” is mean; I know that wan is always “pal “Albumin from the castor bean” Is ricin; and “a road” is trail; I know that tack’s “sharp-pointed nail”; I know that gaze is “steady loo! I know Ra, gnu, ire, oaf and ale: I'm ready for another book. I know “wool fabric” is moreen; I know “inheritance”—entail ; “Past perfect form of witnessed,” sec I know “a valley” is le; I know that venal means “for sale An oven is “a place to cook” ; I know spa, pensile, poon and shale I'm ready for another book. I know “church dignitary’s” dean; I know “attack” is to assail; “The end of day (poet.)” is e’en; I know “a mournful sound” i “Caudal appendage” is a tail: I know ted, girasol and rook ; I know vendetta, orlop, Gael: Um ready for another book. Prince, I know crosswords make you rail, But, cozy in some quiet nook, Though lexicon and Roget fail, I'm ready for another book. Lois Whitcomb BE PRESIDENT WITH THIS SHACK FOR A BIRTHPLACE. comicbooks.com