Life, 1908-04-09 · page 7 of 20
Life — April 9, 1908 — page 7: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two separate satirical pieces: **Upper cartoon:** Depicts a chaotic automobile crash with passengers and luggage scattered about. The caption "Taft leaned back too far once" references President William Howard Taft, likely mocking his weight or physical appearance through the joke that leaning back caused the vehicle's collapse. This reflects the popular contemporary ridicule of Taft's size. **Lower section:** A short story titled "An Awful Case" about Mr. Tippet, a forgetful husband who repeatedly fails to complete errands his wife requests. The satire targets domestic incompetence and absent-mindedness, a common theme in early 20th-century humor about married life. Both pieces exemplify Life magazine's typical blend of political caricature and domestic comedy.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
*-LIFE- 383 Tajt leaned back too jar once whom the morals of this country look for safety, Let Com- stock go, Mr. Hughes! Don’t let anybody like that stand in y. The whole country is looking to you to close up every euchre game, church fair and tiddledewinks outfit in this depraved State. With Comstock in Siberia, the country is still safe, as long as your virtuous and immaculate whis kers are waving o’er the 10me of the free and the land of the brave.”” He finished amid thun ers of applause. Governor Hughes was, of course, won over. He realized, apparently for the first time, that no onz could compete with him on his own ground. In thirty minutes more the release was signed and the power- ful Zip, with its distinguished trio, was speeding merrily to ward the Pacific coast. Once Taft leaned too far back, but the delay was only momentary. With Metcalfe’s masterful hand on the clutch, his companion singing his latest song entitled : “Sink, swim or Siberia,” and Dub Comstock in the rear, his Dundrearies wrapped lovingly around the first copy of “Three Weeks” that had come off the press, the car made its wonderful way along. (To be continued) An Awful Case S MR. TIPPET came in and started to remove his over- coat, his wife came up eagerly. There was a look of anxiety in her eyes as she kissed him. “Did you think, dear,” she asked, timidly, ‘to get that rib- bon?” “What ribbon?” “Why, don’t you know, I gave you a sample to match this morning?” “So you did. By Jove, it slipped my mind!” “And did you stop in at the milliner’s to ask about my hat?” “Dear me, I—I—it quite escaped me.” “Did you send the telegram to mother?” “Great heavens, no! You see, I was so busy 1”—— “And see the landlord about the leak in the roof?” No. I”. His wife looked at him hopelessly. “Did you,” she asked, sadly, ‘‘do anything I asked you to do this morning? If you didn’t, you are certainly the most forget- ful man that I can conceive of.” Her husband met her smile with one of the deepest humilia- tion, as he drew from his overcoat pocket a small rectangular package. “Tam, my dear,” he exclaimed—“I am, indeed! I admit it! I'm getting more forgetful every day. Why, do you know” —and he flourished the package in front of her tear-stained cyes—“I’m getting so forgetful that I came within an ace of not getting these cigars? And I didn’t have one left in the house !”” comicbooks.com