Life, 1926-11-04 · page 13 of 40
Life — November 4, 1926 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several humor pieces typical of 1920s-era Life magazine: **"Desk Motto"** satirizes a bank manager who fired an office boy over a minor mistake, then had to hire a stenographer to replace him—revealing the boy's actual value. **"Nerve Trouble"** mocks a patient's dental anxiety, playing on common phobias. **"Reading Between the Lines"** (cartoon) appears to show working-class or immigrant figures in a humorous domestic scene, though the specific satire is unclear from the image alone. **"Synonyms"** presents wordplay jokes about euphemistic language—how refined speakers say uncomfortable truths delicately. The overall tone reflects 1920s humor: workplace mishaps, class-based comedy, and linguistic wit. The decorative header features classical figures, typical of Life's aesthetic approach to presenting satirical content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Desk Motto OO many cashiers forget that banks should be cleaned out by the janitors only. His Sin of Commission WAS forced to fire my office boy a few days ago and I am finding it a difficult matter to replace him. He was a model of deportment— everything that one could ask for in an © boy—yet I summarily dis- pensed with his services. Never, in all his period of employment with me, did I have occasion to reprimand him for tardiness. Not once was he negligent in the performance of the multifarious duties which fall to the lot of an office boy. Best of all, he had no grandmothers. But the single offense of which he was guilty in one small moment of abstraction was sufficient to offset all his other virtues. After warning him that I would not be in to callers, he admitted my wife while I was closeted in confer- ence with my stenographer. And so I fired him, I also found it necessary to fire my stenographer. M. E. Burns. VIRST GER- MAN: Come to der willitch und haff a drink. Seconp Ger- man: Choor, Lovie. I'd walk a mile for a kimmel. She: 1 KNow I’M GOING TO ADORE THOSE SILK STOCKINGS YOU'RE SEND- ING ME. Her Friend: wett—1 ope THEY COME UP TO YOUR EXPECTATIONS. Nerve Trouble “VE been going to the dentist’s every day for six weeks.” “What's the trouble?” “Oh, I dread the ordeal, I sup- pose—that’s why I've been putting off my visit.” PHRASE descriptive of a Y. M. Cc. A. secretary: “‘Hail-fellow, well meant.” Thought for an Odd Number (If You Can Call It That) ELL, what can I think of to write about? The flapper joke’s getting passé. The stage? Prohibition? The sub- s condition? y! Nay! Nay! Lampoon Presidential economy? The Channel! Let's see: “Trudy’s swim Was a feat none so shady f'r an Ederle lady—" No; lacks vim. Hip flasks? College students? The ra? Broadway? Movies? Galsworthy? God? Can't think of a single new hunch for a jingle! H'm! that’s odd! Baron Ireland. Synonyms M R. West: Whena woman wants a thing known she says, “Now don't tell a soul.” Mrs. West: Yes, and a man says, “Now this is not for pub- lication!” * HERE do the old autos go?” “They don’t.” comicbooks.com