Life, 1912-04-04 · page 22 of 80
Life — April 4, 1912 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
**Top Cartoon:** References a recent Post Office mail clerk theft affecting *Life* magazine's subscription payments. The figure labeled "Ananias" (biblical liar) catches a thief "with the goods"—satirizing the postal employee caught stealing currency sent through mail. **"Life's Presidential Candidates":** A humorous endorsement of Thomas A. Edison for the 1912 presidency. The satire lists his "qualifications": he *doesn't* want the job (rare for politicians), he's not a lawyer (implying distrust of lawyers in government), he speaks his mind bluntly, and he's a scientist—contrasting with the magazine's view that government is unscientific and outdated. The joke "electrify the world" puns on Edison's electrical innovations. **Bottom Cartoon:** "A Modern Miracle—Turning Paper into Stone" likely satirizes government bureaucracy's ability to make paperwork seem permanent or immovable, though the exact reference is unclear without additional context.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ananias: Y've CAUGHT HIM Thief Caught HE recent arrest of a mail clerk in the Post Office branch from which Lire’s letters are delivered, will explain to some of our patrons our non-receipt of sums of money which they have sent to us in payment of subscrip- tions and for other purposes. We regret their losses, but persons who send currency in the open mail do so at their own risk, and neither legally nor morally can we be held in any way responsible for its non-arrival. Fortunately, the standard of honesty among Post Office employees is very high, and we only mention this exceptional occurrence by way of final explanation to those who have been tempted to blame us in the matter. Life’s Presidential Candidates ‘OR the Presidency in 1912, we beg leave to present the name of Mr. Thomas A. Edison. Mr. Edison has many exce'lent qualifications. In the first place, he doesn’t want the Presidency. This fact alone ought to be suffi- cient to cause us to descend upon him in a body and drag him ruthlessly: from his lair. In the second place, he is no lawyer. Thirdly, Mr. Edison has a way of saying what he thinks without stopping to find out whether shallow- minded people are going to like it or not. If Presidential “WITH THE Goons” messages were written in that spirit, they might become best-sellers, instead of deadly platitudes with a high spe- cific gravity. Fourthly, Mr. Edison is a scientist. Our Government is not scientific, and consequently is a full half century behind the times. With Mr. Edison in the saddle, we could electrify the world. A MODERN MIRACLE TURNING PAPER INTO STONE comicbooks.com