Life, 1912-04-18 · page 22 of 54
Life — April 18, 1912 — page 22: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two satirical pieces from *Life* magazine (early 1900s): **"Charles W. Eliot" Interview:** Eliot was Harvard's famous president. Life mocks his "five-foot shelf" of essential books—a real educational initiative that became commercialized for marketing purposes. The satire ridicules how his serious academic idea was weaponized for sales, embarrassing him. The joke is that Eliot is now so gun-shy about publicity that he refuses vaudeville (then popular entertainment) because even Harvard's remote association sounds "more sensational" than show business—absurd logic that undercuts his dignity. **"Mr. Facing-Both-Ways":** This appears to reference someone (unclear from text alone) who contradicted himself on presidential candidacy, first refusing nomination (November 1904) then accepting it if offered (February 1912). The cartoon caption about a grandmother being "burnt for a witch" is a period-appropriate joke about hypocrisy or absurd reasoning. Both pieces use *Life's* signature approach: mocking public figures through exaggerated dialogue and inconsistent statements.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘LTP E* Intimate Interviews “ Probably so” Charles W. Eliot RESIDENT ELIOT—for we still like to call him President—was cogitating in his library as we vaulted through the window and sat down beside him. Slapping him on the back, we said heartily: “Well, what's the latest thing in libraries? educational theories?” “None whatever. The fact is, I have not been doing very much lately along educational lines. That last little advertising turmoil I got into made me rather scary of advancing any new views.” “You mean the time you made out your five-foot shelf of books and then somebody used you as a kind of buffer in order to make sales? Well, Mr. Eliot, you are not the first intelligent gentleman who has been taken in either by a publisher or a book agent. And don't be afraid of us. This is only a confidential matter, and it sha’n’t go any further. What do you think of that five-foot shelf busi- ness?” “Well, I shuddered a little when I saw my picture plastered all over the country, especially when I knew that the list of books that I had prepared is something that no self-respecting American would care to read.” “Don’t you think that would be true of any list of books that anybody would prepare? It is a matter of in- dividual preference.” “Yes, probably so.” “The next step would be for you to go into vaude- ville.” “Never! I prefer to be associated with Harvard Col- lege—even remotely. It is so much more sensational.” Any new Popular Novels And Their Authors (As They Might Be) What the Public Wants—Autobiographical — - The Man Who Could Not Lose—Autobiographical, The Pretender Person - - = = - The Common Law—Now in process of revision - It Never Can Happen Again. - - = - Hail and Farewell! - = - = =) To Have and to Hold - - = WH The Quest—Collaborators T. H. Taft, R. M La Follette. W. Wilson, J Harmon, Osea Underwood, et al. The Neer Do Well - - WJ.Br Rebellion «= - = RM. La Fo! The Wrong Woman Nat Goo: The Long “Roll” - J.P. Mor The Dangerous “Age” - - > Dro The Yellow Letter ~~ - WLR. He Mr. Facing-Both- Ways NOVEMBER 8, 1904 “Under no circumstances will I be a candidate for or cept another nomination. FepRvany “Twill accept the nomination for President if it is ten dered to me.” “PLEASE, MASTER, MAYST I GET OFF THIS AFTERNOON? MY GRANDMOTHER IS TO BE BURNT FOR A WITCH.” comicbooks.com