Life, 1911-03-16 · page 4 of 44
Life — March 16, 1911 — page 4: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Life magazine page satirizes a high-level international committee deadlocked over awarding the "Booby Prize" in Life's Great Auto Race. The five caricatured committee members are identified as King Alfonso (Spain), Joseph Cannon (U.S. congressman), Enrico Caruso (famous tenor), Charles Parkhurst (likely a clergyman), and King George (Britain). The satire mocks the committee's inability to decide, noting that King Alfonso became so stressed he took a day off, while the deliberations continued behind closed doors. The piece humorously suggests the strain has affected international diplomacy—a Spanish minister cabled about Alfonso's absence affecting the throne, and London reports abandoned social functions. The joke: prestigious international figures are comically gridlocked over selecting a "booby prize" (consolation award), with far-reaching consequences.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
KING ALFONSO JOSEPH CANNON ENRICO CARUSO CHARLES PARKHURST No Decision Yet LIFE’S Famous World Wide Committee is still at work trying to come to a decision with regard to the Booby Prize in LIFE’S Great Auto Race. The severe strain told on King Alfonso so much that he was obliged to take a day off this week. The rest of the Committee struggled on without him. It is understood that Enrico Caruso and Joseph Cannon have come to an apeanieal but there is nothing certain. The committee does its work behind closed doors. The race is still going on, but the absorbing interest in the selection of the Booby Prize has superseded everything else temporarily. | We have forgotten, in the excitement, just how the contestants stand, or who's behind. It is rumored that everything in the way of a booby prize, from a seat in the Senate to a steam yacht, has been considered. The Spanish minister has just cabled that the effect of King Alfonso spending so much time away from the throne is beginning to tell on the Clerical Barty. Mrs. Asquith sends word from London that several social functions of the utmost importance have had to be abandoned. Up to the moment of going to press, two of the contestants were tied for the last place. This complicates the situation. The news has been kept from the Committee for obvious reasons. We hope to announce the decision next week. KING GEORGE comicbooks.com 2 pyvergrrees