Life, 1928-09-06 · page 16 of 44
Life — September 6, 1928 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page contains two satirical pieces: **"Summer Showers"** is a humorous poem by Arthur L. Lippmann about rain, using playful wordplay ("raining postal cards"). **"The Chicago Hero"** jokes about Al Capone, the infamous Chicago gangster, offering him a ride—a darkly comic reference to his criminal notoriety during Prohibition. **The main cartoon** depicts a Phi Beta Kappa fraternity car decorated with mock-Latin phrases and scholarly-sounding inscriptions ("Spiritus Sancti Ludovici," etc.). The humor lies in the contrast: college honor students displaying their academic prestige while driving what appears to be a deliberately absurd, over-decorated vehicle, satirizing pretentious fraternity culture and the gap between intellectual claims and actual behavior. The page satirizes American society, crime, and collegiate vanity through humor and caricature.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Simmer Showers (With All Apologies) Ir isn’t raining rain for me Or cats or dogs or birds; It’s raining, almost constantly, A rain of weary words. “We're in the hills where birdies cheep.” “The view's a wondrous sight. . “The food is fine...." “We ‘soundly sleep "Neath blankets every night From lake and lea, from land and sea, From strangers, cronies, pards— It isn’t raining rain for me— It’s raining postal cards! Arthur L. Lippmann. THE CHICAGO HERO “Ip you're going my way, Mr. Capone,” said a friend to the well-known “Scar- face,” “I'd be glad to give you a ride in my car.” ALONG THE MAIN STEM Dear Pav Wicvarp: I presume the home town rags have been gloating on their front pages about Uncle Sam's dry boys taking the giggle out of our Giggle Water Gulch. Well, whatever you've heard, Willard, is quite true, and the Old Stem feels prett glum about it. Of course, one may still get That Way in any of the side-street swallow-and-chokes, but they have none of those cute little girls urging you to give them a great big hand. Tlie Federal men hit Broadway right where it hurt the most and you simply cannot buy a drink in any of the better-class whoopce asylums now. The hostesses and owners have been indicted and are awaiting trial and Texas Guinan has hired Clarence Darrow to de- fend her. So now the mob hails the famous attorney with: “Hello, Succor!” Dear old Tex keeps making flip re- marks about the Government agents and her alleged best friends are hoping she will shut up. Everybody seems to think that her competitor, Helen Morgan, played her part better down at the court- house, for Helen removed all rouge and EST TIBI, Persic& RECEPTACUUMY ‘a vp! | Excusate, $1 placet CAC MEAN FERRUGINGM x Valibe Kope Puella . VOS pad, btmes¢ TACEAM, si HOC ANTEA ayow's* Tue Pui Beta Kappa Stuvent’s Car comicbooks.com