Life, 1928-09-21 · page 6 of 36
Life — September 21, 1928 — page 6: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts a caricatured figure (likely representing a political opponent or "bunk" peddler) being kicked or ejected violently, with the caption: "What d'ya think? The doctor give us another kid. Nine pound—for ten dollars." The accompanying text discusses the "Anti-Bunk Bulletin," criticizing what it calls misleading campaign rhetoric and political propaganda. It references an incident involving President Hoover, baseball player Babe Ruth, and political candidate Rogers, suggesting the press manipulated a photograph to imply Ruth's support. The satire targets voters gullible enough to believe political "bunk"—exaggerated claims and propaganda. The cartoon's crude humor reinforces the magazine's contemptuous view of those who spread political misinformation and the voters who accept it uncritically.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“What d'ya think! The doctor give us another kid. Nine pound: for ten dollars.” we have this year, you don’t suppose that they are an improvement over Lincoln, Jefferson, Roosevelt, and Wilson. No, we are more “smart Alec” than we ever were, but we are no smarter. We read more and we hear more over the radio, but the stuff we read and the stuff we hear don’t make us any smarter. For the people that write it, and the ones that talk it out over the radio are no smarter than the ones that used to have to hand down the dope for our old forefathers. They go to the poles in an Automobile, But they don’t carry any more in their heads than the old timer that went there on a mule, So the old Bunk that you can’t fool the voter is the biggest Bunk there is. He has been fooled all his life and he will always be fooled. There is just as many half wits voting Republican today because their fathers voted that way as there ever was. There is just as many voting Demo- cratic because they have heard their folks tell about how the Republicans treated them during the war, as there ever was. If the voter is as smart as they say, why do they have to tell him anything, why do they have literature, and cam. paigns, and speeches? Why docs each party have to spend 4 million dollars try. ing to buy votes with propaganda? The oldest form of Bunk in the world is to say how “Well informed the voters are and that they can’t be missled by our opponents.” We have bathtubs, airships, four wheel brakes, reducing pills, mani- curists, men’s corsets, and Prohibition, But I doubt if at any time during the history of the world were we ever as down right Dumb as we are today. Anti-Bunk Bulletin Div you read about Hoover attending a bali game in Washington, and askin to be photographed with Babe Ruth? Hoover had previously refused to kiss a baby, but he was willing to shake hands with the Babe. Unfortunately, the Babe wouldn't play ball with the Republican press agents, so the photograph was never taken. The newspapers made much of this incident, saying that the Babe's refusal indicated his devotion to Al Smith. Well, it indicated nothing of the sort. Babe Ruth, together with Henry Ford, Nicholas Murray Butler and other great independents, was one of the Fathers of the Anti-Bunk Party. He was one of the first to indorse the nomination of Our Candidate, Mr. Rogers. Tt was not his attachment for Al Smith but his antagonism to Bunk that caused the Babe to refrain from posing with Hoover. Next Wednesday evening, September 26, the Anti-Bunk Party will hold its sec- ond big radio rally. An announcement of this great broadcast appears on page 32 Those who want to wear Will Rogers campaign buttons should send in their names and addresses to Rogers Campaign Headquarters, 598 Madison Avenuc, New York City. Tue Ru Boat SicNats comicbooks.com