Life, 1925-07-02 · page 29 of 47
Life — July 2, 1925 — page 29: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**"Drummers' Yarns"** satirizes traveling salesmen (door-to-door salesmen, called "drummers") as tedious storytellers. Chester enters a Pullman train car smoker expecting the stereotypical bawdy jokes salesmen were famous for. Instead, one salesman launches into pseudo-intellectual discussion of Einstein and relativity—attempting to seem cultured. Chester, disappointed and rejected, retreats to read *Red-Hot Stories* magazine. The joke: even when trying to escape salesmen's tired narratives, he finds the same story opening ("there were two traveling salesmen") in his reading material. The satire mocks both the salesmen's predictable humor and Chester's lowbrow alternative. **"Economical Wife"** (lower cartoon) is a domestic gag: A wife suggests driving up close to a car wash so they can get their vehicle cleaned "for nothing"—implying they'll get sprayed for free without paying. It's gentle satire of frugality or marital penny-pinching.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘OU'RE NEXT, LADY, HAIR CUT?” “Not JUST NOW, THAN IM JUST LOOKING AROUND. 1 MAY BE BACK LATER.” ’ Drummers’ Yams T scems there were two traveling salesmen in the Pullman smoker when Chester entered. Chester knew all about traveling salesmen in Pull- man smokers, and he gave a sigh of satisfaction. Both men were rotund, florid, a trifle oily, and with twinkling fingernails that reflected excellent mani- curing; it was obvious to Chester that he was a lucky guy. Ten minutes faded into the horizon. Chester grew impatient. “Did either of you gents hear that one about the chorus I—?” he began. “I am thinking,” said the salesman nearer the window, to the other, ignor- ing Chester's query, “about your ideas of Einstein. Here we sit rushing through time and space. Out on that green hill both seem absolute, yet we pass it at sixty miles an hour——" But Chester had gone. He sought seat 13 with a sad eye. From his grip he took a copy of the latest edition of Red-Hot Stories, He whirled about with his back to the now remote green hill where time and space were called absolute, and sullenly opened the paper Easy volume. Then his gray eyes brightened 7 1 OYE (after a momentary silence) : and he relaxed happily in his chair. {aan “It seems,” began the first story Do you suppose that you will ever “there were two traveling salesmen in tire of me? a Pullman smoker....” Detta: T can't think of any reason why I shouldn't! Economical Wife: oniwe Ur CLOSe, EDGAR, AND WE CAN OFT THE CAR WASHED FOR NOTHING