Life, 1907-10-17 · page 27 of 44
Life — October 17, 1907 — page 27: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**The Cartoon (Top):** A surreal nighttime scene depicts nude figures swinging from vines in a forest while a convertible automobile passes below with smoke billowing from it. The caption poses a satirical "mild punishment" question about foul-smelling automobiles. **The Text (Bottom):** Two opinion pieces debate what kind of president would be worst. "No. 22" argues the elected president will inevitably disappoint everyone because every decision contradicts someone's interests—no action can simultaneously satisfy all political parties and factions. "No. 23" offers a sardonic counterargument: why speculate about hypothetical bad presidents when "we've got him"—implying the current elected president is already proving to be the worst. **Context:** This appears critical of early 20th-century American political divisiveness and partisan conflict. The cartoon's surreal imagery mocking automobile pollution suggests contemporary anxieties about modern technology, while the debates reflect cynicism about presidential governance and the impossibility of satisfying a fractious electorate.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
HOW WOULD THIS ANSWER AS A MILD PUNISHMENT FOR OWNERS AND DRIVERS Who Would Make the Worst Presi- dent—and Why? No. 22 HE Man Elected. Because whatever he does or does not do will be wrong. For every appoint- ment that he makes the multitudinous applicants and their sponsors will know that he made the worst possible If he recommends tariff rev deprecates it, or is silent about be all the same—he will be wrong. Every act of his administration, all of his dealings with States (sovereign or otherwise), with Congress and with his fellow-man, whether in accordance with the Constitution or not, will be contrary to what each and every one of the rival candidates would have done, and there- fore he is worse than any of those who might have occupied the Presidential chair. The Man Elected will make the worst President because after taking the oath OF FOUL-SMOKING AUTOMOBILES ? of office he can not and will not act, at one and the same time, in accordance with the dictates, desir every political party, nor of ev cial interest, corporation, organiz society and individual existing in this broad, free and critical land of ours. P. E. T. s, or opinions of finan- tion, = got him—why speculate? J. A. Josern, Jr. comicbooks.com