Life, 1907-08-01 · page 26 of 48
Life — August 1, 1907 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page announces a $50 contest asking readers "Who Would Make the Worst President—And Why?" The timing (September 16, 1907 deadline) suggests this appeared during Theodore Roosevelt's presidency. The accompanying satirical poem by "Wm. R." mocks Standard Oil's dominance in American life, parodying Biblical language (1 Corinthians 13) to suggest that Standard Oil is more powerful and enduring than banks, newspapers, and government investigators. The references to "Lawson" (likely Thomas Lawson, a muckraking journalist) and "Mother Eddy" (Mary Baker Eddy, Christian Science founder) indicate contemporary figures involved in public controversies. The cartoons—"Midsummer Madness," "Call of the Open," and "Polar Expedition"—appear thematically related to escape or flight, possibly suggesting the absurdity of seeking refuge from America's powerful corporate interests. The satire reflects Progressive Era anxieties about unchecked corporate power.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
MIDSUMMER MADNESS; OR THE CALL OF THE OPEN Who Would Make the Worst President— And Why? $50 in Cash Will Be Given for the Cleverest Answer to the Above Question No answer should exceed 200 words. Each contestant may send in as many answers as he or she desires, Lire will publish, as soon as possible, after they are received, those answers which in the opinion of the editors are worthy of publication All answers must be received on or before September 16th, 1907: the answer which in the judgment of the Edi- tors is the best will be awarded the prize. POLAR EXPEDITION All manuscripts must be typewritten on one side of paper. The contestahi’s name and address should be plainly written on cach manuscript. All manuscripts should be addressed to the Contest Editor of Lire, 17 West 31st Street, New York Manuscripts should be accompanied by a stamped and addressed envelope, in case the author desires their return, Wm. R.'s “Libel Class” 'HOUGH I speak with the tongues of Lawson, and of Mother Eddy, and have not Standard Oil, I am become as sounding brass, or a wrinkling hymnal. And though I have the gift of hypocrisy, and understand all Insurance policies, and all Trusts, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove the rock of Gibraltar, and have not Standard Oil, I am nothing. Standard Oil never faileth; but whether there be Banks, they shall fail; whether there be newspapers, they shall cease; whether there be investigators, they shall vanish away. And now abideth faith, hope, Standard Oil, these three, but the greatest of these is Standard Oil. comicbooks.com