Life — October 27, 1898 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Alger's All Right" This cartoon from *Life* magazine (October 27, 1898) satirizes someone labeled "Self-Complacency" depicted as an ostrich with its head buried in the ground. The image plays on the phrase "an ostrich burying its head in the sand"—a metaphor for willful ignorance or refusing to acknowledge problems. The title "Alger's All Right" likely references Russell Alger, U.S. Secretary of War during the Spanish-American War (1898). The cartoon suggests Alger maintained complacency about serious issues—possibly corruption, mismanagement, or scandals within the War Department—by ignoring criticism or evidence of problems. The ostrich represents his refusal to confront difficulties, while smoke erupts around him, implying actual crises he overlooks.