Life — April 23, 1908 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "On to Maxim's": A Slight Delay Near Goldfield This page depicts an early 20th-century incident involving Comstock, likely a fugitive or escapee from custody. The photograph shows dramatic rock formations with a vehicle, illustrating the text's reference to Comstock's escape "near Goldfield" (Nevada). The satirical dialogue mocks the situation: Taft (presumably President William Howard Taft) and others discuss the escape, with jokes about political responsibility and the chase. The caption "What, ho!" and references to "the Presidency" suggest this played into contemporary debates about executive authority and competence. The phrase "On to Maxim's" (a famous French restaurant) implies absurd juxtaposition—from frontier chaos to civilized luxury—typical of Life magazine's satirical humor mocking both criminal incidents and political figures' responses to them.