Life, 1925-09-17 · page 14 of 36
Life — September 17, 1925 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts "How Times Have Changed," contrasting old and new work habits. An elderly man recalls when workers had "endurance"—citing a grandfather who worked long days and "drank three highballs" after work. The implicit satire criticizes modern workers as lazy and soft. Below, a detailed illustrated scene shows chaotic construction/excavation work, labeled as "Suggested Equipment for New York Offices When Blasting on New Subways Starts"—satirizing the disruption caused by NYC's subway construction projects. The right column contains humorous short pieces about color naming ("Cold Steel," "Slightly Off-Color") and a brief anecdote about children discovering a stork, poking fun at genteel society's pretense about how babies arrive. The overall tone mocks both generational decline and modern urban inconveniences.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
SEIT SUGGESTED EQUIPMENT FOR NEW YORK OFFICES WHEN BLASTING ON NEW SUBWAYS STARTS. How Times Have Changed “THE old days are gone,” said the philosopher. “We're not the men our grandfathers were.” “You are right,” assented the business man; “men had endurance in those days.” After which he took his train, went to his office, transacted three hundred thousand dollars’ worth of business, held six conferences, smoked cight cigars, ate a lunch of which the only thing digestible was the water, and as that was in the finger bowls he didn't drink it, played a round of golf, drank three highballs, ate an eight-course din- ner, consumed six more highballs, to a show, danced afterwards until two, imbibed another bath-tubful of liquor, ate some more, went to bed, and was up again at six to get in a round of golf before going to Chicago. “\ JR. BOGGS, I'm afraid your son is going to the dogs. v, he's too durn lazy. will have to come to him.” Materiee Caer sey Cold Steel LIEUTENANT who went out to shoot Some Riffians holding a butte Felt exceedingly queer When impaled on a spear— For that was the Riff in the lieut. Slightly Off-Color : AVE you seen that new shade—” “Evéque purple?” “Heavens, no! Purple’s so trite. And I don’t know what you mean by ‘évéque’.” “Oh, that’s the French for ‘cardinal,’ or something.” “It can't be. Cardinal is one of those dark reds. Well, anyway, this new shade—” “I hope it isn’t another brown. I'm so tired of the browns.” “Tt isn't brown, It’s a sort of dark red.” “Not cardinal?” “No. Oh, not a bit like cardinal. It's called ‘Burgundy’.” “I thought that was one of the purple shades.” “T guess it used to be. But it isn't this season. It's a dark red.” “Like wine?” Not exactly wine. Burgundy wine, anyway. I heard that it was imported especially by them.” “Not real wine? Oh, I see. You mean the shade. Who imported it?” “I was just telling you—Maks, Fifth Avenue.” “Oh that color! Why they had a whole window full of hats in that red last week. That isn't very new. Any- way, it isn't called Burgundy. _ It's raspberry.” Lois Whitcomb. Outcast “THREE small stair-step children of the Westport art colony were play- ing with some neighboring youngsters beside Dead Man's brook when they spied a crane. “Oh, look!” exclaimed the oldest of the poor illustrator’s three. “There's the stork that brought the Methodist minister’s baby. Daddy saw it coming toward our house last night, and he went out on the path and threw Old Hiram Beetle: 1 TELL YOU, EBENEZER, THESE MODERN INVENTIONS CERTAINLY DO BEAT ALL, WHEN WE WERE YOUNGSTERS THE OLD-FASHIONED HORSEFLY WAS GOOD ENOUGH FOR FARM WOR! BUT NOW NO PLACE IS COM TE WITHOUT A DOZEN OK SO OF THESE PESKY NEW-FANGLED CATERPILLAR TRACTORS, BY HECK! a rock at it!” THe English Channel appears to be the original no-way street. comicbooks.com