Life, 1912-09-26 · page 26 of 48
Life — September 26, 1912 — page 26: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the 1912 U.S. presidential election chaos. The main article "Where Are We At?" mocks voter confusion over whether candidates represent themselves or wealthy industrialists. It suggests Roosevelt is associated with J.P. Morgan and Taft with Rockefeller—implying financiers secretly control politics. The cartoon "A Morganatic Marriage" plays on this: a "morganatic marriage" (unequal union) depicts religious/political figures uniting Morgan and Rockefeller's interests, visualizing the corrupt alliance between big money and candidates. Other items mock modern anxieties (disease, medical treatments) and include a gag about a pastor who stays awake by thinking about golf. The overall message: voters cannot trust elections when wealthy magnates secretly control both parties' candidates.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
1862 . SSG SSS PALL? ae ATEN NRO | | SSSODSavaoa Naw WHAT'S IN A NAME? Man's Enemies The list of inan's enemies grows daily. Pellagra is charged against the black bird. The buffalo hippopotamus are accused of sleeping sickness. wating” insects we are bidden to exterminate Pringfeld Republican. mammals. AX? from doctors we get operations, vaccination and serums. DYER: C have no trouble keeping awake during the sermon Ryer: How do you manage it? Dyer: By playing golf “T HAVE A FEELING THAT MY WIFE IS NEAR” “A MILLIONAIRE? WELL, JUMP THROUGH TIS” Where Are We At? T is unfortunate that the political whences and whithers and whyfors have become so involved. One hardly knows what view to take. ft is no longer Taft and Roosevelt is no longer Roosevelt, but who are they? Many think that Roosevelt is Morgan and Taft is Rockefeller. But we can’t be sure. The political tips of financiers are as inscrutable as their financial tips. One never knows whether to take the tip, do the opposite or keep off alto- gether. It ought to be a crime for magnates thus to have private candidates. The penalty should be to force them to be candidates themselves. That is really the logical thing. If we had Rockefeller running as a conservative and Morgan running as a Progressive, then we could act with some degree of certainty, some assurance at least that we would get the man we voted for, or “get” the man we voted against. A MORGANATIC MARRIAGE. comicbook $-CO