Life, 1926-02-25 · page 34 of 36
Life — February 25, 1926 — page 34: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains a serialized story about **Elijah Samson Merritt**, a henpecked husband dominated by his wife. The narrative satirizes rigid adherence to rules and instructions—Elijah obsessively follows printed directions on everything from canned goods to library books, never questioning authority. The turning point comes when his boss demands he stay late for a business engagement, but Elijah refuses, citing a prior commitment. This small act of defiance emboldens him. When he arrives home late that evening, his wife confronts him ("Why were you late?"), and instead of submitting as usual, **Elijah throws a vase at her**—a dramatic rebellion against decades of marital subjugation. The accompanying cartoon labeled "An Open Mind" shows two men discussing "dawgs" (dogs), illustrating the theme of unquestioning obedience. The satire targets early-20th-century gender dynamics and the emasculation of men in marriage, while also mocking blind rule-following. The accompanying **Elco motorboat advertisement** ironically promotes "freedom" on the opposite page.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“The new Elco Fifty-foot Cruiser —a real home afloat Where, on land, can you find this freedom? F YOU want to free yourself from social and business worries . . scribable thrills, try Motor.t With an Elco tates—far awa 0 cares. With plenty of food and fu that the re: your fr forts and conve , if you want to experience new and inde- i r ic serowdae telephones. and business aboard you can forget of the world exists. You can live and do as ; you can eat and sleep as you please. our pleasures with your family and live on board with all the com- to be found ashore. We can furnish you with an Elco Cruiser—a real home afloat—at a price surp titled,"Motor Cruising—a glorious adventure.” f desired. booklet en- Address: singly low; on term for this interesting PORT ELCO—2147 Park AvenueNew York City Elco THE ELCO omg nays NNE, (Established 189 —THE HOME AFLOAT CYA HICSS AN OPEN MIND , EPR?” A DAWG? “KNOW ANYTHIN’ “ROUT DAWe WHERE'S The Revolt IJAH SAMSON MERRITT was No pecked deny that, not even Elijah. His wife's domi firmly established that he never thought of questioning it. Weighing, as he did, 125 pot he would have Mrs. Merrit articularly the Jack Dempsey to a finish fight as thor deed and premacy the worm’ ning. He Elijah had been trained from boyhood f role, withe ut supplementary uction was the sort of youngster who reads car the list of in structions pasted on the inside cover of every library } When a danger sign was placed on Ik by p movers, Elijah did not scamper direc reath the nding ; he made a iching the he marked a sample t y and on the red-letter day carried the booth, where he copied its crosses with inter He followed the printed ns on for the proper care of their contents hose washed exactly according to the metl by th rs. He opened cans of tin ly the when he bee icul und the ¢ line stamped ah with neither doubt n did exactly Naturally, he was told. me was dis tinetly not the quibbling } On the eve o his tenth wedding Elijah left iversary arded a street car. The conductor shouted, * but our hero, concentrating on the piece of c his finger, did not respond. He took car waited for him n to get a kick out of life. He took the cote nger and placed it in a waistcoat pocket the waiter murmured, 1?" Elijah ordered a thick ff with two of coffee. glorious for the remainder of the day. An adve ca lesk when he returned. It read, “Turn This Over and Surprised.” Elijah dropped it into the waste-hasket A young lady one’s seeretary—telepho: s this Mr. Merritt? Holthlineplease,” she requested. He wang off at once. No one called hin for it The boss emerged from hi five o'clock. i fg to-ni he boomed. “I estimates with n't do it,” he me.” anne firmly. gement at five- thirty. Have to let it “All right, to-m: the agreed. Ry the w a new note of re in his firm has dec It's cor It surely is, On the ce, “the ary way ¢ . he threw t m way Elijah walked married, He was late “What kept you What do you mean by he got. El and threw it had been was waiting st time since he h “Why were Mf cou wife she demanded. you late? That was as far hall now picked a vase from the console in the at her. He is b supreme, ty nable, disputed, arbitrary, nnical ruler of the The Missionary Spirit 10 freedom in this e+ all “How's that?” “You ca Sunday ry at any more,” radio on rt even get any jazz music over the without having some stat’ in with a try to cut 1 serm CORPORATION. BROOKLYA, NEW YORe comicbooks.com