Life, 1926-07-22 · page 22 of 37
Life — July 22, 1926 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes early 20th-century American business culture's obsession with "efficiency" and ruthless pragmatism. The main cartoon shows young Edwin defending his misbehavior (pulling the cat's tail, upsetting the goldfish bowl, stealing pear preserves) by citing his father Rufus K. Quirt's own business maxims back at him: "Go After It!", "Be Johnny on the Spot!", and "Get It Done!" The joke is that the father's aggressive business principles, applied literally by his son to domestic life, produce chaos—yet the father rewards him with a bonus for such "efficient" logic. The satire critiques how American businessmen internalized ruthless competition as moral philosophy, then hypocritically objected when children applied those same principles at home. It mocks the contradiction between preaching efficiency/ambition and expecting normal family conduct. The sidebar content reinforces the theme with cynical observations about modern life replacing genuine principles with mere self-interest.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The Efficiency Family DWIN,” remarked old Rufus K. Quirt, who was a holy E terror in any Board of Di- rectors’ room, to his young son and heir, “your mother tells me you € Get the been a very naughty boy. hair brush, Father,” countered the youth, who had been a member of the fam- ily long enough to absorb the Soundest Business Principles, “you pride yourself upon being an Open- Minded Man, do you not? Then permit me to State My Case. Item A in the account against me, sir, that your primary rule in business is GO AFTER IT! BE JOHNNY ON THE SPOT! Now, I—" “Procced no further, my boy,” said Mr. Quirt. “Mrs. Quirt, I think we need not punish our son. Instead I shall present him with a bonus—a quarter.” “T check you, R. K.,” agreed his wife. Tip Bliss. 4, ASHION NOTE: If you want to be a snappy dresser wear your garters around your neck. E COWS—ARE THEY CONTENTED?” From a Club Chair WHEN people speak of a prin- ciple these days they are really thinking of an interest. *e * Politics, fortunately, is no game for a gentleman; but, then, neither is life. ** * Our juniors will have very few experiences to look forward to when reach our ages; but they cer- tainly will have a wealth of them to look back upon. The latter is the reason for our resentment, e* «# I believe, is that I pulled the cat’s tail. For that you have only yourself to blame, Father. I Grasped My Op- portunity—your own counsel to me, sir. With that argu- ment, I rest my case. I am a boy of few words.” “I Absorb Your Angle, Ed- win,” admitted Mr. Quirt. “Item B,” continued Ed- win, “is that I upset the gold- fish bowl. Again your ps ternal admonitions had their effect. You have often re- marked that the continued splas and ploppings of the goldfish, (a) Horace and (b) Sallie, were annoying to you and you wished somebody would get rid of the damn things. Sir, your motto is one which I have adopted—GET IT DONE!” “My reaction is favorable,” muttered Mr. Quirt. “Item C: That I stole and confiscated the pear preserves. Have you not told me yourself, THE LIGHTNING THUMB WITH A COUNT TWO HUNDRED CALCULATOR HAMMER, AND 15 INTO THE MILLIONS. HAS JUST NOW WELL UP If we have so few inter- esting novels, it must be re- membered that there few interesting sins. 8 & are Europeans go to Paris to escape from their families; Americans to escape from themselves. ee © Really, the most hopeful development of our times is the growing realization that marriage is much too seri- ous a matter to be taken seriously. James Kevin McGuinness. Initiated IFF: Say, Guff, do you belong to any fraternal organizations? Gurr: Well, I'm a sub- way rider. T’S a physiological para- dox, but we've never known a broad-minded man with a swelled head. HIT HIS comicbooks.com