Life — February 10, 1927 — page 26: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes a traffic stop scenario in Hell. A demonic officer has pulled over a speeding motorist, creating absurd dialogue about gentlemanly conduct. One figure protests "applesauce" (slang for nonsense/lies), while another claims he "did not try to run away nor resist the officer"—suggesting he's fabricating a defense or mocking excessive politeness in an infernal context. The joke appears to mock both the pretense of "acting like a gentleman" when caught breaking rules and the formality of traffic law enforcement. The title's reference to Dante's "Inferno" elevates this mundane modern problem (speeding tickets) to cosmic absurdity. The cartoon likely dates from the automobile era when speeding tickets were a relatively novel concern, making the exaggeration of sending someone to Hell for traffic violations humorous.