Life, 1926-04-15 · page 10 of 44
Life — April 15, 1926 — page 10: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main illustration shows two women in conversation beneath a sign reading "Riot Escape." The cartoon's caption reads: "They tell me ye're divorced, Myra. Did ye get any alimony out of yer husband?" with the response "No—but he gave me a reference." This is a joke about divorce and female employment in the early 20th century. The humor lies in the woman receiving a job reference from her ex-husband instead of financial alimony—a practical but emotionally deflating outcome. The Scottish dialect ("ye're," "yer") suggests working-class characters, implying this was a common circumstance among ordinary people rather than the wealthy. The satire critiques inadequate divorce settlements for women while highlighting their limited economic options beyond securing employment.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“THEY TELL ME YE'RE DIVORCED, MYRA, DID YE GET ANY ALIMONY OUT OF YER HUSBAND?” “NO—BUT HE GAVE ME A REFERENCE.” For Better English SHORT time ago I heard a flap- per approach her father with these words : “Pa, gimme hair bob, willya Somehow, it suddenly brought home to me with full force the horrible butch- cry of our beautiful language by mod- youth. I reproved the young lady, who happened to be my own daughter. I absolutely refused to let her have the dollar until she could ask for it in pure English. I enlarged rpon the lack of elegance, of refine- ment, in her speech, At first she sulked, dollar bill to get a erm sternly but gradually she came around to my way of thinking, and when ‘she came to me again she couched her request in this wise “Please, Father, may I have a dollar William to get a hair Robert?” So I slipped her two bucks. Asia Kagowan. We Moderns HARLIE: There's an excellent pic- ture at the Rialto, Shall we go? Manet: No, let's go to the Lyceum. T can smoke there. The Ryewayman T" night was a torrent of dark- ness Above the misty seas, The moon was a Riding a drunken breeze y galleon Rum Row was a floating warehouse runner came Of gin and Scotch a: gliding, unner came gliding To take the goods ashore. He'd a 4 ah E ster And a three days’ growth on his chin, His boat was a Scabrig That could run a hundred She skidded along at fifty, She almost seemed to fly— And the runner was proud and haughty, intolerant and haughty, With a hint of sometl naughty In his bloodshot, roving eye. Over the billows he scudded And thumped to the schooner’s rail, And he Usher White Horse, ordered and But all they had was ale. He cursed like a ragi And tore his tangled } Then swept on over the water, over the gs demon, ir, misty water, Dodging the line of slaughter, To try his luck elsewhere, But hark! on a dark destr A rusty breech-block creaked Where Souse, the gunner, listene His throat was parched and peaked. He was bound to do his duty, Ordered to shoot to slay; But he loved his Scotch-and-sodas, his bubbling So his firelock held its load as The rum-runner sailed aw Lloyd Maye: otch-and-sodas The Perfect Baseball Fan E doesn't complain if the seats are behind the screen. He doesn’t have to ask who's batting He doesn’t suspect the man He doesn't worry about getting home. He doesn't think baseball is fixe He doesn't expect his cold drink to be cold McC. H. SUCCESSFUL monopolist is a man who gets an elbow on cach arm of his theatre chair, comicbooks.com