Life, 1926-10-14 · page 27 of 44
Life — October 14, 1926 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several satirical pieces typical of Life's humor: **"Values"** (poem by James Kevin McGuinness): A meditation on the human cost of luxury goods—specifically wine. The poem traces how wine reaches a drinker's glass through the dangerous, illegal efforts of smugglers and criminals during Prohibition. The irony: Is a $12 bottle of wine worth all this human suffering? **"How to Obtain a Choice Seat"**: Absurdist humor listing impractical methods to get theater seats (become mayor, marry the star, buy the theater). **"Ravings of a Coke Addict"**: A testimonial praising coke (the fuel) over coal, with comic exaggeration about its cleanliness and convenience for housewives. **"Religious America"** (cartoons): Two contrasting scenes labeled "Sunday Morning" and "Sunday Night" at Lake Lush showing traffic patterns—implying Americans are more devoted to weekend recreation than religious observance. The "good hurricane" billboard joke suggests destructive weather might clear cluttered roadsides. All content satirizes American consumer culture and hypocrisy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Values SIT beneath the shaded lights I And watch the agitated rubies in my glass, Thinking. The sun shone summer-long on Bur- gundian vines, Before bearded vintners cut the rip- ened grapes. Maidens trod them seething pulp And saved the precious juice. Long years the bottled essence Before it went down to the sea in wearily into ships... men braved wrath; Sharp men dared the coast guards’ Daring the ocean's fire; men lowered themselves to bribery ; Cautious men moved in the black- ness of night; Some suffered; some went to jail; some died, That 1 might sit beneath the shaded lights, And watch the agitated rubies in my glass, Stern Thinking... Is it worth it? Well pu ask, Twel ars a quart is pretty James Kevin McGuinness. How to Obtain a Choice Seat for a Standing-Room-Only Show PE lected Mayor. ) Win a beauty contest. Join the orchestra, Write the pla Marry the star. Buy the theatre. JMIAT our billboards really need is a good hurricane. V AKE LUSH? 20 mies f SUNDAY MORNING “YOUR MOTHER'S AWFULLY FU “1 KNOW, BUT THERE’S NOTH AGE, YO! 1 CAN DO WITIL HER; SHE .L OF PEP, ISN'T SI AT THAT u KNow.” Ravings of a Coke Addict “T cleaner than coal, man! Why, my wife uses the dust for a sweeping compound ! “It's light—a_ shovelful weighs only a few pounds It’s a pleasure to tend to the furnace. My wife ad- mits it! You've got to remember that no coal shovel was ever made to fit a woman's hand—a coke shovel, now: “More expensive, but at the end of the winter you'll find fewer clink- ers in your grate and more clink in your pockets! “How much coal did you burn last winter? All right, I'll show you z interesting. Have you a PS. Ps someth pene! * HY was Bilkins demoted from third -president to fourth assistant director of personne Ie used the wrong inflection on a ‘yes’. A= UAKE Lusi 20 MILES Religious America SUNDAY NIGHT comicbooks.com