Life, 1912-01-04 · page 25 of 108
Life — January 4, 1912 — page 25: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical "puzzle picture" where readers must identify a hidden figure—"the man who suggested a short cut"—in the dark, crowded woodland scene. The accompanying text personifies 1912 as a character arriving to face immense challenges: electing a president amid poor candidates, managing socialist agitation, dealing with suffragists, fixing fashions, and conducting various reforms and business dealings. The "short cut" reference is unclear from the image alone, but likely alludes to a political figure proposing a problematic solution to one of these issues. The satire mocks 1912's overwhelming complexity—suggesting that "nothing in a name" matters when the year must navigate contradictory demands from different social movements (progressivism, labor unrest, women's suffrage) while maintaining traditional institutions. The puzzle format invites readers to participate in identifying who among the crowd represents a dangerous shortcut to solving these problems.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Li FE aitiies reeat,'| PUZZLE PICTURE FIND THE MAN WHO SUGGESTED A SHORT CUT 1912 OOD morning, 1912. So you are here at last! Well, better late than never! You have certainly been a long time coming. Much longer than the four digits in your name would indicate. But no matter. There is nothing in a name. Now get to work at once! There is a lot of work to be done. The task of the greatest traditional importance is to elect a President. We pity you in this job. Things have got into a terrible muddle and the Presidential tim- ber is unusually poor. There are other things. There is unrest to quiet down. There is an increased number of Socialists to assimilate. There are suffragists to demilitantize. There are maga- zines to make interesting. There are important baseball championships to be decided. There are bankers to be reformed. There are crops to be moved. There are mag- nates to be interviewed upon the state of the country. There are parodies of Kipling and Omar Khayyam to be written. There are fashions to be fixed. There are important grafts to be put through. In short, there is as much to do as ever before, if not more. You have a great opportunity, 1912. There is plenty of room and no competition. But be careful. Look be- fore you leap, year.