Life, 1925-06-04 · page 19 of 44
Life — June 4, 1925 — page 19: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon:** A conversation between two parents reveals the economic reality behind college costs. The joke satirizes that while college tuition is expensive, a young woman living independently in New York City (supporting herself without family help) costs even more—a comment on both the financial burden of education and the challenges of unmarried women's independence in this era. **"If They Told the Truth":** This satirical piece mocks the hypocrisy of honorary degree ceremonies. A fictional college president bluntly reveals the actual reasons for awarding degrees: bribing legislators, donating money for campus facilities, and social prestige (having a foreign ambassador present), rather than genuine intellectual achievement. The satire exposes how institutions compromise their standards for financial gain. **"The Line of No Resistance":** A brief joke about a woman named Grace whose figure is so flexible she can position her waistline wherever she wants—likely referencing 1920s fashion trends of loose, adjustable waistlines that contrasted with earlier corseted styles.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
a ney “BUT DIDN’T YOU FIND IT RATHER EXPENSIVE HAVING YOUR DAUGHTER IN COLLEGE?” “VES. BUT NOTHING LIKE HAVING HER IN NEW YORK SUPPORTING HERSELF.” If They Told the Truth T the commencement exercises of Goofus College hon- orary degrees were conferred upon a number of dis- tinguished men by President Lemuel McSweeney, who said “Marcus H. Beasely, financier, railroad magnate, crook par excellence, it is fitting that the degree of Doctor of Laws be conferred upon you, for you have doctored more laws than anybody living. As a briber of legislatures you have no equal. However, honorary degrees are cheap and, to put it bluntly, Goofiis College needs the money. There- fore, by the authority vested in me by the faculty and coun- cil of Goofus College, I invest you with all the rights and privileges of a Doctor of Laws. Now come across. “Thaddeus F. Sauerbush, your father left you ample millions, but he failed to en- dow you with any brains. There was a time when an honorary degree indicated some measure of intellectual achievement, but fortunately those barbarous days are past. But even in these enlightened days the idea of making you a Doctor of Letters is pretty much of a joke. However, you have “WELL—THAT LETS ME OUT.” promised to endow the faculty barber shop, which we need, so what the more or less hell? Therefore, by the authority vested in me, ete “Raoul de Valois, Count of Marseilles, Ambassador from Mesopotamia, I don’t know why in blazes we are giving you a degree, but it lends class to a commencement to have at least one foreign ambassador on the bill of fare. I don’t mind saying that we tried to get a couple of Major League diplomats this season, but the other colleges beat us to them and had them all signed up, so we had to be satisfied with you, I suppose I ought to confer this degree of Doctor of Civil Law upon you in Latin, but I don't know any Latin, and be- sides, you wouldn't know what I was talking about anyway. Therefore, by the authority, ete.” man Lei The Line of No Resistance YNTHIA: wonderful she? Satty: Yes; she can put her waistline wherever she likes. Grace has u figure, hasn't comicbooks.com