Life — December 9, 1905 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of Life Magazine Page 718 This page discusses Congressional business and Philippine tariffs. The left column contains editorial cartoons criticizing a proposed sea-level canal project that Congress had debated for fifteen years at enormous cost ($200,000,000), which the editor calls foolish. The main text addresses Mr. Henry M. Whitney's dispute with President Roosevelt over tariffs on Philippine sugar and tobacco. Whitney, a Massachusetts businessman, had met with Roosevelt to discuss these trade matters. The editorial expresses frustration that it cannot determine who misrepresented whom—whether Whitney or the President—regarding reciprocal trade policies. The piece suggests the White House doors are now closed to Whitney, treating the incident as a minor but telling example of executive-legislative tension over economic policy.