Life, 1928-02-16 · page 17 of 38
Life — February 16, 1928 — page 17: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains several humor pieces mocking early 20th-century American consumer culture and social pretension: **"Getting at Some Facts"** satirizes radio advertising economics—a dialogue where "John" naively asks how corporations afford expensive radio programming, learning it's funded through advertising profits extracted from consumers themselves. The satire targets consumer ignorance about commercial sponsorship. **The cartoon below** shows two men discussing car insurance, with one admitting he "had to do *something* to sober up"—likely implying he caused an accident while intoxicated. **"The Street Car Conductor Goes Movie Usher"** mocks working-class job transitions during economic shifts, depicting someone applying movie-theater etiquette to an unfamiliar role. **"Nubbville Sparks"** contains brief, gossipy anecdotes about small-town characters and their mundane domestic mishaps, typical of period humor columns.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Getting at Some Facts “J OHN, who pays for these expen- sive radio programs?" “Why, the big corporations, of at big corporations?” any big company, like a soap for instance.” yap company ?” cs, just for example.” “How can they afford to pay for a big orchestra, and announcers, and opera stars and—” “Why, it’s advertising, dear.” “But how can they pay such big prices—?” “Out of their advertising fund.” “Where do they get such a big fund, John?” “Out of profits, of course.” “Profits? That much profits? Then they get it from the people? From me?” “That's logic; now you're getting into—" “The idea! Me paying five thou- sand dollars an hour for the neigh- bors’ entertainment. I won't buy another bar of soap—"” “But, dear, that’s business—” “Yes, what you men call business! It's robbery—I'm going to take it up with the Ladies’ Auxiliary at our next meeting. Turn off that radio!" very James A. Sanaker. “And what was the idea of driving your car right into a telephone pole?” “Well—I had to do something to sober up.” The Street Car Conductor Goes Movie Usher but Recovers “(X OOD morning. Welcome to Fairview and One Hundred Thirteenth Street lin Let me as- sist you. May I tal arge of your packages while you enjoy the ride? A pleasure, I assure you. Would you like these s or some toward the front? I can recommend these. Between the wheels, you kne Would you like the morning paper “Do you s'pose my sweetie will be pleased with the pearls I got for her?” “Sure! T'll bet they'll Tecla to death!” “Yes, madam, your transfer is perfectly satisfactory. Of course the other conductor punched it two hours al f time. Mistakes will happen. Sorry there isn’t a seat at this moment. I shall be happy to find you one at the next stop. Is the ventilation all right? It’s a pleasure to be of assistance. . “Ladies and gentlemen, I should like to observe that there are some good seats forward, so why in § Hill don’t you MOVE UP FRONT? This ain't no observation platform. Honest, some people would drive a guy nuts!" B.F.S. Nubbville Sparks ] RS. GAMMY GROVER didn't get such a good job o’ face- liftin’ done, after all. Gammy says she looks like she tried to sneeze durin’ the operation. eee Eb Bitters came into the drug store to-day looking for some eye-lotion. Seems Eb had been having his first set-to with a grapefruit. o* «© Neptune Tyler swooned Thursday when he caught his wife washin’ a dish. Later investigation showed that she was only removin’ the price- mark. L. V. E. comicbooks.com