Life, 1927-06-23 · page 13 of 38
Life — June 23, 1927 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page features a weekly contest where readers submit creative alibis to explain embarrassing or problematic situations. The featured "Alibi Number Twenty-Eight" shows a domestic scene: a stern father confronts his daughter about a bounced check marked "Insufficient Funds." The young married daughter must explain why her husband's check failed. The contest's humor relies on readers inventing excuses—alibis—to explain away the daughter's financial mishap. The illustration depicts the awkward family confrontation, with the father demanding answers while the daughter sits defensively with a child present. This reflects early 20th-century middle-class anxieties about financial stability, marital responsibility, and generational conflict. The contest awarded $100 weekly in cash prizes for the cleverest explanations.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
PRIZE WINNERS ALIBI NUMBER TWENTY-THREE Mother: WiLL, BoBBYy, IF You WEREN'T IN SWIMMING TO-DAY, PER- HAPS YOU CAN TELL MOTHER WILY YOUR UNDERSHIRT IS WRONG SIDE ovt? Bobby: Gee, Ma! you sre, It’s nus way... I saw I was going to slip and I pulled my clothes off to keep from getting them wet. This Alibi, which wins the first prize of $50.00, was submitted by M Rennie MacRae, 28 Pershing Avenue, St. Louis, Missouri. Second prizes of $10.00 each have been awarded to the following: Arton Battarp, Logan, Utah, for the Alib want to be a Boy Scout and reversing the undershirt . good turn for to-day.” Euiry S. Cort, Pensacola, Flor- ida, for the Alibi: “I gotta do one good turn a day or I can’t be a is ni We were by the river playing company of soldic the command was given, ‘Fall in'—and I did.” Ten special third prizes of $5.00 cach have been awarded to those who submitted ions of the “boy- scout-good-turn” idea, but who failed to take into account the fact that the hoy in the above picture is ob- viously too young to be already a scout. (The minimum age limit is twelve years.) The winners of these special awards are: Harriet Barr, Milwaukee, Wis- consin; Mrs. James Ery Breapy, (Continued on page 30) ALIBI CONTEST Conditions of the Contest on page 30 $100.00 Weekly in Prizes IX the picture below are a young wife, her stern father and one of these “rubber checks”—the kind that bounce back after they have been cashed. The check had been signed by the young lady's husband; her wealthy parent had cashed it; the check had been returned from the bank marked, “Insufficient Funds.” Now the father has approached _ his daughter and demanded an explana- tion. What can she say? It is for you, dear reader, to de- cide. Somehow or other, the young wife must make up a good Alibi— or excuse—which will turn aside her father’s wrath. She can do it—with your assi: ance (twenty-five words, or less). Each week Lire presents six or more cash prizes to those of its read- ers who have invented the cleverest and most ingenious Alibis to fit the emergencies described: First Prize, $50.00 Five Second Prizes of $10.00 each ALIBI NUMBER TW Y- NINE will be published in Lire next week, with a new set of prizes offered, Read the conditions carefully— and go to it! ALIBI NUMBER TWENTY-EIGHT Stern Father: 1 CAsHeD THIS CHECK FOR YOUR HUSBAND, AND 1T’s COME BACK MARKED INSUFFICIENT FUNDS.” WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? Young Married Daughter: weit, pap, you see, IT’s THIS WAY... comicbooks.com