Life, 1912-03-28 · page 15 of 50
Life — March 28, 1912 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains political satire about early 20th-century electoral ethics, likely referencing the 1912 presidential split between Taft and Roosevelt (suggested by "Teddy's" caption and the Taft references). The main text mockingly presents a dialogue where a character justifies increasingly unethical political actions—from assassination to poisoning to polygamy—based on regional political considerations. The satire argues that politicians rationalize corrupt behavior as mere "political actions" where "the larger duty has to govern," treating moral principles as negotiable based on electoral utility. The cartoon (top left) shows figures near a tree with the caption "Ha! Ha! Ha! That's what I call a real sport"—likely satirizing casual acceptance of political dirty tricks. The bottom illustration captioned "And Teddy's Sure to Get You If You Don't Watch Out" appears to show a menacing figure, referencing Theodore Roosevelt's political aggression. A separate brief humor piece about an optimistic wife concludes the page.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“ual ual Hal THAT'S WHAT 1 CALL A REAL SPORT” be elected. So they feel there was nothing ethically wrong about it. “Well, I say, ‘if he were stirred by patriotic motives to put a knife physically into Taft at the base of the shirt front, like Ehud the Benja- minite did to Eglon, the fat king, in the Bible, and make him unpresentable at the convention, would you think that would be wrong?’ . “*Tt would be awfully indiscreet and liable to lose him more votes than it would win, except in Arkan- sas, Arizona, Missouri, Oklahoma, Montana, New Mexico, Texas, and some urban districts in New York where they go in for that sort of thing. And ethically it would be de- batable. You see it would be a po- litical action, and in them, of ccurse, the larger duty has to govern.’ “Suppose he used poison?’ “*Tt would still be political, so far as ethics go, but practically it wouldn't do. It would hurt him all around except in the Prohibition States, where the universal use of patent medicines has destroyed the prejudice against poisons.” “* Suppose he eloped with a young ladies’ boarding school. Would that be wrong?’ “*He'll not do that. Why, Utah's only got two electoral votes, and the feeling for polygamy in Idaho, Nevada and New Mexico doesn’t really amount to anything politically.’ “That,” said Philetus, “is how they talk back to me! And I feel just as AND TEDDY'S “ SURE TO GET YOU IF YOU DON’T WATCH OUT” they do about it at the time, but when I get off by myself again I have mis- givings and begin to think they ought to be on bail of some sort. I never was so mixed before about right and wrong. Never!" E. S. M. PTIMISTIC WIFE:I think cook is improving, don't you? Huspanp: Why, at dinner to-night everything but the black coffee was horrible. Optimistic Wire: I know that. But usually that’s bad, tod. comicbooks.com