Life, 1908-10-22 · page 5 of 24
Life — October 22, 1908 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The main cartoon depicts two figures in bed at the White House, with labels indicating "Our White House" and "There's No Place like Washington after." The illustration satirizes domestic life in the nation's capital, showing what appears to be a couple in an intimate moment—likely commentary on the private lives of political figures or Washington society. Below, "Seven Bits" contains humorous social observations about Washington life and romantic relationships. "The Real Issue" editorial discusses political efficacy, questioning whether Democratic or Republican policies truly matter for election outcomes, and emphasizes that good governance—not partisan loyalty—should determine voter choice. The overall tone mocks Washington pretension while questioning substantive political differences.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
houses If you're waking, call me early, call me early, mother dear, heres © Place hutie The fourth of March is the gladdest day of all the glad New Year, Of all the glad New Year, mother, the maddest, merriest dry, For I'm to be queen o' the march, mother, Be that as it may! Insouciance LOVE the merry social whirl! The skillful flirting with some girl, 1 love the dinners and the dates, And all the artificial traits. I love the speed with which we go ‘The wicked ways, the brilliant show. I love the grinning skeleton Behind the boards, who views the fun; And when his merry face I see, T hope, if I'm as thin as he Some day or other, I shall still At sights like this, feel my bones thrili! Te LAh The Real Issue HIS is the last word. Pruned, pared, skimmed, simmered, trimmed, cored, distilled, square rooted and reduced to its lowest common denominator ; stripped of all the oratorical and rhetorical under- brush; analyzed to the very quick, the real issue in this campaign stands forth naked as follows: How to get office. Now doesn’t it? When something is shouted from the stump, roared from the rostrum or slung from the stylo, the un- derlying and governing thought is: What effect will this have on the election? There is not a single saving sign in cither the Democratic or the Republican party of that I'd-rather-be-right-than-be- President spirit which floats so proudly from the masthead of our copy books. Now is there? And not only is this spirit not con- fined to the high muck-a-mucks; it ex- tends clear down to the man who is kick- ing dogs out of the city hall at three dol- lars a week. For campaign purposes, a thing is so, not because it is so, but be- cause a certain desirable position de- pends upon its being said to be so, a position the salary of which goes right on through good times or bad provided the people can be made to believe it is so. Not to do good, but to be done good to is the issue. Ellis O. Jones. comicbooks.com.