Life, 1924-12-25 · page 5 of 37
Life — December 25, 1924 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains satirical commentary and humor pieces typical of early 20th-century Life magazine. **"There Is No Truth in the Report"** attacks the Anti-Saloon League with false rumors about its leadership, suggesting hypocrisy around prohibition politics. **"The Perfect Target"** quotes a professional reformer dismissing ordinary citizens' knowledge—satirizing sanctimonious reform movements. **"The Crossword Puzzle Fan"** presents a fan illustration with commentary about obsessive puzzle-solving, a 1920s fad. **"Mournful Numbers"** by Robert Barton catalogues mundane statistics about household life (1 in 5 motor cars, 1 in 20 dies poor) to mock how people anxiously quantify existence. **The main cartoon** depicts a social gathering where neighbors gossiped that a woman "made a fortune from her voice" through "hush money"—satirizing scandal-mongering and assumptions about women's earnings.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Life here Is No Truth in the Report TH the Anti-Saloon League will hold a coming-out party for Wil- m H. Anderson, December 24. That New York Republicans have in- ted Red Grange to run against Tam- ys That a large sum of money was left the late Senator Lodge to the Wil- 1» Memorial Fund. That John W. Davis has been black- led for membership in the “Ain't nna Run No More” Club, That the use of soft pencils by cross- ord puzzle fiends has been denounced the Clean Books League. That President Coolidge has suc- eded in persuading Congress to enter to a conspiracy of silence. Foster Ware, The Perfect Target THE CROSSWORD PUZZLE FAN A CHRISTMAS GIFT SUGGESTION Mournful Numbers PICKED up 1 out of the 11 maga- zines on the table and thumbed over 180 out of the 239 pages. My eyes scanned 720 out of the 1674 advertise- ments and I learned: that 1 out of 5 motor cars and trucks is made by one organization; that 1 out of 20 dies in the poorhouse, and 15.3 out of the re- maining 19 are financially flat tires at the age of eighty; that 3 out of every il housewives in Paducah, Ky., use a pinch of this scasoning when making dish gravy for hominy fritters; that a sweet young girl, whose friends were too shy to tell her, went to a dance and only danced 28 out of the 32 dances, and why? that out of every 24 hours we spend 8 in bed and 4 at meals and only 34 seconds in shaving with this new process; that 4 out of every 5 get... Slightly foaming at the mouth, I took 4 out of the 9 steps to the window and cast myself out of 12 of the 14 stories. Robert Barton. V ELL,” remarked the Profes- sional Reformer, “there doesn’t em to be much doing around the office day—I guess I'll go out and take a ick at the Constitution.” FOR MILADY FTER all, there is a difference be- tween an expert and an ordinary person, The ordinary person doesn't receive any pay for telling people what they already know. “ HAT’S keeping the Waverleys afloat ?” “Oh, they have a raft of friends!” \WHERE did you spend Sunday?” “Between two Fords.” 4 7. foo) 7 “YOU SAY SHE HAS MADE A FORTUNE FROM TIER VoIce?” “YES, THE NEIGHBORS GAVE HER HUSH MONEY.” comicbooks.com