Life — February 22, 1906 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This **Life** magazine cover from February 22, 1906 satirizes debates over the Panama Canal's construction. The central figure is a corpulent military officer (likely representing Theodore Roosevelt or Panama Canal Commission leadership) sitting in water labeled "PANAMA CANAL," surrounded by small boats. The caption "THE WAY TO MAINTAIN A 'SEA-LEVEL CANAL'" is sarcastic. The cartoon mocks proposals for a sea-level canal versus a lock-based system. By depicting an enormous official literally occupying the canal waters, the cartoonist suggests that maintaining a sea-level canal would require filling it with absurdly large obstacles—satirizing the engineering and political challenges the project faced. The ornate decorative border containing classical scenes adds to the satirical tone.