Life, 1925-07-23 · page 7 of 36
Life — July 23, 1925 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes police department training curricula through a mock "Police Academy" curriculum listing absurd courses like "Fruit Inspection" (banana pinching, apple appropriating) and "Doorways" (door inspection practice). The main cartoon depicts a frustrated police officer telling a fed-up agent: "I'm sorry, but this department won't do, either. Not a room in the place big enough to swing a cat in." This references the idiom "room to swing a cat," mocking police departments' cramped, inadequate facilities or bureaucratic inefficiency. The satire targets police institutional incompetence and poor working conditions during what appears to be the early 20th century. The "Famous Go-Getters" list adds ironic contrast—listing historical figures alongside mundane or questionable "achievements." The page also includes unrelated period advertisements.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Famous Go-Getters ‘ACK and Jill. Delilah. Old Mother Hubbard. The Dove on the Ark, Sir Launcelot du Lac. Dr. Cook. Christopher Columbus, Jason. Lucrezia Borgia. Casanova. The Northwestern Mounted Police. H.W. H. The Curriculum (New York City Police Academy.”—) First Semester (Three hours fly.) Theory and practice of : banana pinching; (b) apple appropriating ; (c) peanut pilfering. Excusu 1. (Four hours weekly.) : Memorizing and reciting: ‘m on; keep movin’! “Tell it to th’ Judge Say, who do you think you are?” (4) “I don’t care if your old man’s th’ president.” (c) “G'wan to th’ curb.” Written: Spelling of Street. Doorways. (Two hours weekly.) Practice and theory of door inspec- has established a es item.) Kosciuszko IF DEPARTMENT STORE MANAGER3 COPIED PREACHERS Mrs, Wrenn: 1 ENJOYED YOUR SALE OF PRINTED CREPES AND HANDBAGS EVER SO MUCH, MR. DISCOUNT. Mr. Discount: on, THANK you, M IT WAS most 1 . WRENN, THANK you! IRING, VERY KIND OF YoU TO SAY SO, I'M SURE. tion, with particular attention to side doors and padlocks. Weapons. (Three hours weekly.) Practice in: (a) nightstick twirling: (b) nightstick bouncing (1) off sidewalks, (2) off buildings, (3) off heads. Patrot. (Two hours weekly.) In- struction in sleep walking. “I'M SORRY, BUT THIS APARTMENT WON'T DO, EITHER, NOT A KOOM IN THE PLACF. BIG ENOUGH TO SWING A CAT IN.” Fed-Up Agent: au, THEN, WHY NOT FIND ANOTHER HOBBY? Second Semester Parer Work. (Four hours weekly.) Theory and practice of summonses for speeding: (a) when to make out; (b) when to tear up made out; (¢) valuation of types of cars. Crime Detection. (Three hours weekly.) Practice and theory of crash- ing gate at: (a) theatres; (b) boxing matches; (¢) horse races. SaresMansuir. (Five hours week- ly.) Theory and practice of selling police benefit tickets to: (a) storckeepers ; (b) motorists; (c) business and professional men; (d) all others. James Kevin McGuinness. after being THIS Is Gop's Own CounTRY Seven hundred and fifty-three banking institutions, of which one hundred and twenty-seven were National Banks, failed last year. Dont KNocK-BOOST comicbooks.com