Life, 1928-10-12 · page 14 of 44
Life — October 12, 1928 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon:** The sketch depicts a man bending over a furnace while two women watch. The caption reads: "I want you to come right in and tend the furnace. Let that puppy dig up his own bones." **Meaning:** This is domestic satire. The woman is instructing her husband to do manual labor (tend the furnace) while their dog digs in the yard. The joke plays on gender roles and marital dynamics—the husband is being ordered around by his wife, reduced to performing household tasks while even the family pet seems more independent. It's mocking emasculation in marriage and the loss of male authority in the domestic sphere, a recurring theme in early 20th-century American humor magazines like *Life*. The cartoonist's signature appears at bottom left.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“I want you to come right in and tend the furnace. Let that Extra! It was the night of the presidential na- tional election and the offices of the Great- est Newspaper on Earth, or in the uni- verse for that matter, were in a state of turmoil. This was the day on which more than one hundred and seventeen million persons in the United States (based on Federal Census Bureau estimate for 1926, through the courtesy of the World Al- manac) were to choose their executive, the man who should guide the Ship of State through four years, who should de- termine foreign policies and decide do- mestic problems, who should settle the most delicate international relations, who should: But the gravity of the situation on Na- tional Election Day is well known to all and needs no amplifying. Suffice it to repeat that the offices of the Greatest Newspaper on Earth were in a turmoil. The harried editor-in-chief, overcome by the excitement and the responsibility, was slumped over his desk with his head in his arms and moaning gently; thé manag- puppy dig up his own bones.” ing editor was beside himself with worry; the city editor was tearing his hair; even the sports editor, the financial editor, the fashion editor, the radio editor, and a number of other editors had been com- mandeered from their regular jobs for the crisis; every reporter—even the most hard-boiled, who had covered every story of moment since the surrender of Lee at Appomattox—was frantic; the telephones jangled madly; copy boys rushed to and fro, hither and yon, check and jowl, hip and thigh—— Well, it was the wildest night in the memory of anybody who had ever worked on the Greatest Newspaper on Earth. You see, some woman up in the Bronx had just shot her boy friend. Tip Bliss. PROFESSIONAL QUESTION “Wuen I was playing tennis in Ger- many I won the plaudits of the multi- tude.” “How much is a plaudit in American moncy?” Unsolicited Testimonial to an Ugly Duckling To you, who merit precious little praise From men in search of love or those who write Bright sonnets, odes and lyric roundelays To maidens of a visual delight And those with active minds or charming ways: To you, O ugly duckling, I indite This song I sing, because I think it pays. To you, for whom no wedding anthem rings, Devoid of beauty, as you are—and dough: Toward whom Dan Cupid never gaily wings With some fine lad for courtier of beau: I dedicate this verse and hope it brings A due reward: for Edgar Guest, | know, Gets rich by writing just of homely things. Carroll Carroll. comicbooks.com W