Life, 1925-11-05 · page 18 of 50
Life — November 5, 1925 — page 18: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon, titled "The Trend of the Times: 'Will You Need My Corkscrew, Sir?'" depicts a working-class man at a doorway asking a well-dressed gentleman for his corkscrew. The satire comments on economic desperation during labor unrest—specifically referencing the miners' strike mentioned in the text. The implication is that the poor man must borrow basic tools, suggesting economic hardship forces working people into humiliating dependency. The surrounding "Life Lines" column contains brief satirical commentary on contemporary issues: labor union membership, political figures (including Secretary Wilcox and General Smedley Butler), book distribution initiatives, and voting rights—all typical of early 20th-century American social criticism. The cartoon critiques wealth inequality and labor conditions of the era.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WING to the miners’ strike, it is announced, the public will have to use substitutes for the substitutes for coal it’s been getting. aw The Bartenders’ Union, numbering 27,- 000 members, is still very much in existence, according to the American THE TREND Federation of Labor. Also, it affords the most perfect living example of the closed shop—unless you're known there. LL The least Philadelphia could do to speed the departure of Gen. Smeptey D. Butter would be to issue a sesquicen- m= OF THE TIMES “WILL YOU NEED MY CORKSCREW, SIR?” tennial stamp to commemorate his first declaration of: “We have the boot- leggers on the run.” aL It is officially announced that the United States Treasury has an unusually large surplus. Write to your Congressman NOW. LL The American Booksellers’ Association has instituted a special telegraphic de- livery service, but the ultimate will not have been attained until they can send the ten best books to any desert island by radio. . LL Incidentally, it would be an inestimable boon to American literature if some of our novelists were compelled to restrict themselves to the confines of a night letter. L In spite of all the criticism that has been leveled against him, Secretary Wizsvr is to be allowed to retain his post. He'll probably remain in office until he has gathered enough local color for a series of Navy stories for the kiddies. LL The various agitations in Washington have simmered down, and the only im- portant question in Army and Navy circles at present is: “Can you get mea couple of tickets to the game?” LL Close upon the heels of Apple Week comes Education Week, which, oddly enough, is as it was in the Garden of Eden, Logic - Y dear, I think I shall spend the night at my sister's,” came his wife’s voice over the telephone. “Do you care?” “Not at all,” he replied, heartily. “Then I had better take the first train home,” she decided. Nowapays a free country may be defined as one in which the capital crime is to the capital punishment as the number of authorized voters is to those who actually vote. comicbooks.com