Life — May 1, 1931 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Motor Meter" Page Analysis This page features a poem by Berton Braley celebrating automobiles as superior to horses, alongside satirical news briefs and cartoons. The main cartoon depicts two figures in what appears to be a confrontation about "legal ways" to "give vent to fierce indignation against the existing order of things." The figures' formal dress and the reference to legal dissent suggest this mocks political activists or reformers of the era who sought change through established channels rather than more radical means. The accompanying news items include humor about Nebraska University refusing diplomas to drinking students and a California radio station's sound-effect experiment. These brief items typify Life magazine's satirical commentary on contemporary social trends and institutional policies, using light mockery to critique educational standards and emerging broadcast technology.