Life, 1925-09-24 · page 24 of 41
Life — September 24, 1925 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This satirical page mocks early automotive culture and pedestrian dangers. The top cartoon shows a golfer-motorist complaining about his slice—a joke about distracted driving, suggesting motorists are so absorbed in golf they can't focus on the road. "A Prayer for Pedestrians" parodies religious liturgy to express genuine anxiety about traffic dangers. The mock-prayer treats crossing streets as life-threatening ordeals requiring divine intervention, reflecting real concerns about reckless drivers who ignore pedestrians and traffic signals. The "Motorist's Description" list humorously catalogs pedestrians as nuisances from drivers' perspectives, inverting the typical complaint that motorists endanger pedestrians. "The Artful Dodger" anecdote jokes that Jenkins practices dodging traffic on golf links—implying both that golf courses are safer than city streets and that pedestrian navigation requires athletic skill. The brief "History" cartoon (undated but labeled 1840) appears to satirize technological progress, though details are unclear. Overall, the page reflects 1920s anxiety about automobiles as dangerous, disruptive urban forces.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Golfer-Motorist: THE LUCK, WHY DO I KEEP ON SLICING? DURN A Prayer for Pedestrians CHIEF TRAE “ICER, We thank thee for delivering us safely across another street. The way was long, manifold dangers beset us upon all sides, since it was not a one- way thoroughfare. But in that dark- est hour when we felt sure that taxi- cab would get us, thou didst give strength to our limbs, speed to our get-away, distance to our leap, and a firm spot for our landing. For this and all thy other gifts, we thank thee! Forgive us our jay-walking and our disregard of traffic signals. Lead us into the paths of safety zones, but fail not to keep our cyes peeled for the driver—thrice cursed—to whom safety zones are as nought. Let our medi- tations be upon the present problem of getting back safely to our homes in- stead of upon some far-distant wool- gathering expedition, For, next to a wooden leg, an absent mind is least to be desired among harassed pedestrians. Show us thy way, O Officer, and let not thy whistle blast o’ertake us in the very midst of the busy crossing. For there are drivers—legions of them— who leap forward at the first pipe of the signal, heedless of us, thy poor children. And if a driver trespass upon us, unhinging our ribs, forgive him not; for he darn well what he’s doing. knows John C, Emery. EACHER: Johnny, do you know the four seasons of the year? Jounxy: Yes'm—straw hat, raccoon coat, red flannel, and goloshes. A Motorist’s Description Pestiferous Erratic Dodging Exasperating Stupid Tantalizing Reckless Ignorant Aggressive Neurotic Superfluous From a Club Chair HE difference between a shopgirl and a lady is the difference between the movies and the theatre. makes the sins seem less than they are. Silence eee Tt seems to be the newest thing to grow old disgraccfully. soe No good American would think of dying these days befure he goes to Paris. eee It takes three gencrations of leisure to produce a son able to forget that he is wearing a top hat. see The great evil of Prohibition is that it has made drinking a duty. ve Conventions, in bridge as in life.are most valuable to those who know when to disregard them. James Kevin McGuinness. The Artful Dodger ENKINS is a marvel. He can walk right into the traffic and cross the street without being hit.” “Nothing marvelous about that. Jen- kins has been practicing on a public golf links.” A Brief History of the Human Race Vol. IV: A.D. 1840 comicbooks.com