Life, 1925-04-23 · page 5 of 37
Life — April 23, 1925 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three distinct pieces of humor satire: **"Once to Every Man"** presents a domestic comedy where a husband confesses something unspecified to his wife, building nervous tension. The joke hinges on the reader's expectation of serious confession versus mundane reality. **"The Boob"** critiques a man ridiculed by professionals, newspapers, politicians, and financiers—all taking advantage of him while he remains oblivious ("the boob"). The crossword puzzle and accompanying notes suggest this is part of an ongoing series. **"Officially Busy"** mocks bureaucratic evasion: when asked why someone's unavailable, the response is simply "she's in conference"—implying important work that's actually meaningless busy-work. **The Baseball Cartoon** satirizes disruptive fans at the opera, showing audience members ejecting an enthusiastic baseball fan, highlighting class tensions and cultural clash between popular and elite entertainment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Once to Every Man WAS astonished to find myself cool. I motioned my wife to a chair. “Sit down,” I said, evenly. “I have some- thing to tell you.” She sat there, her hands folded in her lip, looking up at me with anxious I reflected that she must sus- pect something. I had been restless, uncasy, for two or three days. “I have a confession to make,” I “IT never thought I should have to tell you this. We've been mar- ried twelve years and nothing like this has ever marred our happiness. It has happened to other people, but not to us.” She began to weep softly. I felt like a dog. If I could have undone...but that was impossible. I Jaid a hand on her trembling shoulder. “Lam sorry, dear. But one day last week a woman came into my office...” She shook off my hand. “Go on,” she choked. “I don't know what it was about * I continued with an effort. “I sha’n't try to excuse mys but be- fore I knew what I was doing...” wonder, went on. VERTICAL 1, STANDS FOR APPLE. HORIZONTAL 1. INITIAL OF THE FIRST MAN (Note: This is the second in a series of Big Crossword Novelties—the first having been published last October. The third puzzle will appear in Lire as soon as another craze starts.) Stop!" she cried despairingly. “No; there is nothing gained by stopping. I must go on to the end. Be- fore I knew what was happening...1 had signed for a set of books; a hun- dred and ninety dollars.” McCready Huston. The Boob ROFESSIONAL. humorists me the butt of their jokes. Newspapers deride me, and political writers rejoice in my failings. Financiers pity me. Citizens call me a boob. Yet— When the humorist is worried over copyrights, The newspaper wants postal rates re- cuced, The political writer needs material for a story, The fina reduction, And the citizen wants garden seeds, a new post-office or a Government po sition, They pat me on the back, expecting that I, the boob, should fix these things up for them T am a Congressman Seks Officially Busy bas HAT’S the matter—can't you get central “No—she's in conference.” make cier is anxious for tax comicbooks.com