Life, 1929-04-26 · page 4 of 36
Life — April 26, 1929 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page is primarily **advertising for Houdaille shock absorbers**, not political satire. The main illustration depicts a cowboy or frontier pioneer figure with a rifle, accompanying text titled "27 YEARS of PIONEERING." The ad argues that Houdaille shock absorbers, like historical pioneers, have established themselves as standard equipment on major automobile brands (Lincoln, Pierce-Arrow, Stutz, Ford, Nash, Chrysler, and others). The "pioneering" metaphor positions the product as foundational and trustworthy. The right side contains reader letters to "Such is Life" (the magazine's advice column), including one from Roy W. Howard praising a drama critic and another thanking the editor for manuscript consideration. This is straightforward commercial advertising dressed in Americana imagery—no political commentary or satire is present.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
YEAR PioneErine The Pioneers who blazed trails, harnessed streams, planned cities and linked them together with bands of steel rails, merely paved the way for scores of other pioneers, whose genius and fortitude have contributed a thousand devices for comfort, con- venience and easier living. Such a Pioneer was Maurice Houdaille. Houdaille’s 27 years of Pioneering had its effect in convincing the engineers of Lincoln, Pierce- Arrow, Cunningham, Stearns-Knight, Jor- dan, Ford, Nash Advanced Six, Chrysler Im- perial, Studebaker President and Graham- Paige, to specify Houdailles as standard equipment on these cars. No manufacturer, having adopted Houdailles as standard equipment, has ever given them up. If you are not enjoying supreme riding com- fort in your car... . drive around to a Houdaille Service Station or to your own car dealer, and have a set installed immediately. Prices $50, $75 and $100 plus i i i Pssttchdeat Hide treaces Houde Engineering Corporation of the RockiesandinCanada B UF FALO, NEW YORK HOUDAILLE Hydraulic Double Acting SHOCK ABSORBERS March 14, 1929, Dear Life: oo I have taken O. O. McIntyre for bad or worse. I have taken him for granted. I’ve even taken him home, but I never took him for a dramatic critic in my life—let alone your Lire. Come to think of it you may be right. He never laughed when any. one else did and he never cried when anyone else did. That's a fair start. When I first knew him he only cried on Saturday nights when he could dry his tears on his pay envelope. He re- served Friday for laughing when the rest of the editorial staff wondered if it could live without eating until Sat- urday noon. A critic? I don't know. Unless he is kindlier to the drama than he has been to his friends’ tastes in clothes —God help the drama! As a reviewer, he should be good. He has an ex- cellent background. He reviewed Bar- num and Bailey’s first parade and | have been told that he reviewed (as a cub reporter, of course) General Sher- man’s personally conducted — tour through Georgia. He is sure to have a following. I know one tailor who has followed him ever since we wore the same suit—on different days—in Cincinnati. He will be great for Lire if you can live with him. I did, but I never got my full growth. And as for the drama —IT HAD BETTER BE GOOD! Sincerely, Roy W. Howard. Dear Life: I wish to thank you for the cour- tesy of returning my manuscript so promptly. Also for the kind way in which you rejected it. It shows that the best humorous weekly in America is best behind the scenes too, where the public seldoms gets a glance. After my poem has made the rounds of the other magazines which I think may be able to use it, perhaps I will send you another letter telling you which one of the lot refused it the most graciously. In closing I wish to say that I have come to the conclusion that it is bet- ter to be refused by Lire than to be accepted by lots of others, so here's hoping that you turn down my next as graciously as you turned down my last. Sincerely yours, Harold Ernst Burr Crary. LIFE: Published Weekly by Life Publishiog Compen , $98 Madison Ave., New York, N.Y. Subscription, $5.00. Vol. 93, No. 2425, April 26, 1929. Eat'd lew as 2nd Class Matter New York, June 8, 1883, at ‘ork Post Office, under act of March 3, 1879. Printed in U.S. A. Ent'd as 2nd Class Matter at the Post Office at Cleveland, Ohio. Ent'd as 2nd Clase Matter at the Post Office Dept., Canada. Copyright 1929, Life Pub. Co., in U. S., England and British Possessions. comicbooks.com