Life, 1925-12-17 · page 24 of 40
Life — December 17, 1925 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1920s satirical story mocks Prohibition-era restrictions on American nightlife. A young man visiting New York's famous nightclubs discovers he cannot order ginger ale (suggesting hidden alcohol was customary), food (due to Pure Food Laws), cigars (Purity League opposition), or dance with women without a chaperone (due to Vice Society agents like John S. Sumner, who actually did suppress "immoral" entertainment). The joke: despite being denied every pleasure, he still receives an exorbitant bill—"Highway Robbery." The waiter's response that there's "no law against that" satirizes how establishments profited while Prohibition eliminated legitimate business practices. The bottom cartoon jokes about British propriety during the Grand Tour, contrasting Old World formality with American social anxieties about morality. The satire targets both government censorship and hypocritical commercialism during Prohibition's early years.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
22 This Gay Night Life ELL, it seems that once upon a time—right about now it was, come to think of it—a Young Fellow from the West came to New York to witness the Gay Night Life. For he had been looking at the pic- tures in the N Yorker, drawn by artists who live in Vienna, and thought there was such a Thing. By applying to Secretary Kellogg, he was permitted to enter the nationally famous Del Rio Club, and was assigned toa Table. A Waiter arrived early in February. “A bottle of Ginger Ale, please,” ordered the Young Man, who nothing if not Hep to what is Going On These Days. “IT am sor ir,” said the Waiter, bursting into Tears to show that he Meant it; “Mr. Buckner has withdrawn our Ginger Ale License. You see, ii a Customer orders Ginger Ale it gives others the idea he has Something on the Hip, and that Looks Bad.” “Well, then,” said the Fellow, whose name was John P. Forbes, “how about a little Sustenance? was NUBBVILLE SPARK MISS BEULY BEEMAN WAS OUT OF OUR BARBER'S CHAIR SATURDAY LONG ENOUGH TO WATCH A LATE MODEL HAT CROSSIN’ THE STREET. “The Federal Pure Food Laws pre- vent it, sir,” the Waiter reminded him gently. “Ah, yes.” murmured the Young Man. “Then bring me a Cigar.” “The Purity League, sir,” hinted the Gargon (Fr.) reproachfully. “Hm,” said Mr. “Do you think I could dance with some young lady if I phoned to my Grandmother to join me here as a Chaperon?” Forbes. “Oh, sir,” said the Waiter in horror. hat Gentleman sitting yonder is an agent for John S. Sumner of the So- ciety for the Suppression of Vice. And besides, sir,” added the Waiter, laying his Finger against his Nose, “you know what grandmothers are nowa- days. Here is your Check, sir.’ When Mr. Forbes had recovered from a brief but painful Spell, he summoned the Maitre or Head Waiter, as he is still known in Iowa and the Dakotas. “Look here!” exclaimed Mr. Forbes. “IT have not been permitted to D or Eat or Smoke or Dance here I get a Bill for Thirty-Two Dol- lars and Eighty Cents. Why, that's Highway Robbery!” “Highway Robbery, huh?” retorted the Maitre. “Well, what of it? They ain't no Law against that, is they?” Tip Bliss. Out of Luck “P)YON'T you think that a man who'd hide behind a woman's petticoats is a contemptible coward?” “Coward? He's an anachronism.” English Mother (to son about to leave on the Grand Tour): AND WHILE YOU'RE ABROAD, TRY TO GET A GLIMPSE OF THE PRINCE. comicbooks.com