Life, 1925-08-20 · page 5 of 36
Life — August 20, 1925 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a poem "Wail" by Dorothy Parker lamenting lost love and joy, followed by "Tears—Not All Idle," a story about a newspaper's documentation of industrial tragedy. The "New Cartoons for Old" section presents social commentary comparing 1915, 1925, and the present day. Each era depicts similar scenarios with updated references: a man climbing a pole (likely representing escape or ambition), and children playing near urban poverty. The cartoons satirize how social problems—particularly working-class struggle and taxation burden—persist unchanged across decades despite claims of progress. The bottom illustration shows children in a poor urban neighborhood, with the caption "Pull up a little, will ya, mister—you're right on first base," suggesting baseball as metaphor for social mobility or childhood play amid poverty.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Wail OVE has gone a-rocketing. That is not the worst; I could do without the thing, And not be the first. Joy has gone the way it came. That is nothing new; I could get along the same,— Many people do. Dig for me the narrow bed, Now I am bereft. All my little hates are dead, And what have I left? Dorothy Parker. Tears—Not All Idle NCE there was a keen-cyed nov- clist. who came to a rural home and recorded its pitiful tragedy, stain- ing his paper with his tears. But the family continued their labors, serenely unconscious of their tragic circumstances. In time, too, the nov- clist. ceased from weeping and grew fat on royalties. Eventually it was only the readers who suffered and wept. rural THE STEEPLEJACK TAKES HIS WIFE OUT ON SUNDAY TO SEE THE COUNTRY Parlez-Vous RACE: How did you get along with your French in Paris? Viota: Wonderful! I found two women from Denver who could under- stand me! New Cartoons for Old 1915 MON Rum with its back to the wall. Father heatedly telling his cigarette- smoking young daughter where to get off. Henry Ford with the world as a passenger in his flivver automobile. Uncle Sam calmly twiddling his thumbs, while the Allies, on the other side of the pond, are urging him to come on across and play. The Common People crushed under a heavy load of taxes. 1925 Prohibition with its back to the wall. Father meekly listening to his cig- arette-smoking yung daughter tell him where to get off, Henry Ford with the world as a passenger in his flivver airplane. The Allies calmly twiddling their thumbs, Uncle Sam, on the other side of the pond, is urging them while to come on across and pay. The Common People crushed under a heavier load of taxes. Harry L. Roberts. “PULL UP A LITTLE, WILL YA, MISTER—YOU'RE RIGHT ON FIRST BASE.” comicbooks.com