Life, 1925-07-16 · page 27 of 40
Life — July 16, 1925 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a humorous children's story by 10-year-old Peter Stockton satirizing urban anxiety and absurd problem-solving. Mr. Go-Wan, a lawyer desperate to reach Wall Street within 20 minutes to avoid losing $1,000, irrationally fears subway tunnels. Rather than use public transit, he phones the Fire Department chief (conveniently his friend) and commandeers a fire engine to rush downtown, arriving only to discover his client left 15 minutes earlier—making his frantic effort pointless. The satire mocks: - **Overreaction to minor inconveniences** (tunnel phobia) - **Class privilege** (using connections to abuse emergency services) - **Poor decision-making under pressure** - **Wasted effort for financial gain** The accompanying jokes reference **Prohibition** (the shaker joke) and celebrity culture, typical Life magazine content from the 1920s-30s era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Adventure of Mr. Go-Wan Peter Stockton (Age 10) R. GO-WAN, a famous lawyer, jumped off the train at 125th Strect because the next stop was Grand Central and Mr. Go-Wan just couldn't tl to go through the tunnel to get there. Mr. Go-Wan was very mad as he stood on the platform, watch in hand, watching those precious minutes slip away. He had to get down to Wall Street in twenty minutes or he would lose $1,000. The only thing that could get him there was the Subway, but he couldn't bear any underground whatsoever. Suddenly he made a dash for his suitcase and rushed down- stairs. A policeman tried to stop him thinking he was mad but he dodged : RE A LIAR! him and ran to the telephone, dropped Him: wuat pw you say? his hag and telephoned to the chicf of He: pws’t You HEAR ME? the Fire Department of New York. Flin ae 1 680 When he got him he explained that he had to get downtown, to the chicf, was a great idea and if Mr. Go-Wan — only had fifteen minutes left. Pretty who luckily was a great friend of Mr. would wait where he was, why, he soon he heard the siren of the fire Go-Wan, and said that if he would — would send a fire engine there directly. engine which came rushing up the Ict him take a fire engine and pretend Then Mr. Go-\Wan went out in front — street. It slowed down to about fifteen that there was a great fire downtown of the building and watched. When miles an hour while Mr, Go-Wan he would get there. The chicf said it he looked at his watch he found he jumped on, Then they went. tearing down Fifth Avenue, Mr, Go-Wan could see a clear road about half a mile in advance. He sat by the driver, watch in hand, watching the minutes pass. At last they got to his office. He jumped down and ran to the ex- press elevator and told the elevator boy to drive right up to the twentieth floor. When they got there the boy had hardly opened the door when Mr. Go-Wan jumped for it, somehow drop- ping 25 cents which the boy picked up gratefully. When he opened the door of his office he asked his clerk if Mr. Get-Out (the man he had rushed all this way for) was here. The clerk said: “Why he just left about two min- utes ago. Why, did you want him?” “Did I want him—it meant $1,000 to me,” echoed Mr. Go-Wan, as he almost fell over backwards. Well, no use ery- ing over spilt milk. The Celebrity’s Child “TYOESN'T the baby ever talk?” es, but not in public—he has a horror of being misquoted.” ‘A’ SOCKED YOU IN THE JAW. She: Wurry, ROY, DEAR! THEY ARE ALL WAITING FOR THEIR COCKTAILS. DiVveRrce is now so casy that no VM DOING THE BEST I C BUT IF SOMETHING ISN'T DONE ABOUT THIS one need hesitate about getting PROHIBITION, DARLING, WE'VE GOT TO BUY A BIGGER SHAKER. married. comicbooks.com