Life, 1912-10-17 · page 12 of 44
Life — October 17, 1912 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The cartoon depicts a tiny photographer with a large camera and shield confronting a charging elephant. The caption reads "WAIT A MINUTE! WAIT A MINUTE! I FORGOT TO CHANGE THE FILM." This appears to be satirizing aggressive photojournalism or news media pursuit. The elephant likely represents a powerful public figure or institution, while the small photographer symbolizes the press attempting to document or expose it. The humor lies in the journalist's comic obsession with capturing the moment even while facing danger—suggesting that members of the media prioritize getting the story over personal safety or reasonable judgment. The surrounding text about Catholic schools and crop advice indicates this is from Life magazine's satirical editorial section.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
we ye Camera Fiend: wait A MINUTE! WAIT A MINUTE! 1 FORGOT Is This the Reason > The reason why we haye not adequate sittings is because the Catholic Church through certain officials has prevented the building of an adequate number of schools. The reason why they do not want adequate schools is that they wish to force their children into their own schools.—New York Call. HIS direct assertion ought to be worth somebody's attention. It gains importance by its effort, at least, to throw light into dark places. There must be some discoverable reason why 100,000 school children in New York are on part time, but we have never seen an explanation that explains. We all know, of course, that Catholics have always favored parochial schools as inst public schools, and, therefore, the Call’s statement is plausible, but there ought to be a way of establish- ing its truth or falsity. Perhaps the detective force or the newspapers are equal to the task. If the Call's expla- nation isn’t the correct one, what is? Advice to the Crops D R CROPS: We understand you are a bumper, and we are very glad of it. The ques- tion arises, What are you going to do with yourselves? We hope you have considered the matter carefully and have reached a wise and humane judg- ment Above all, do not be too exclusive. You should make it your business to distribute yourselves as equitably and as widely as possible. Be generous toward the poor and needy. If you find a man in want, do not waste time trying to find out what he deserves or evs Ment mw TO CHANGE THE FILM how he got that way. Feed him first and find out afterwards. Hunger is absolute; deserts are relative and de- pend on the point of view. Do not hang around the grain mar- ket any longer than actually necessary. Otherwise you will be but the play- thing of gamblers, who neither toil nor spin. So also avoid the middleman as much as possible. Let the consumer be your friend and guiding star. And oh, dear, good, kind crops, whatever else you do, don’t get mixed up in politics. You will be courted by candidates and politicians everywhere who desire credit for your abundance. Have nothing to do with them. Shun them as you would a viper. Their voice is Jacob's, but their hand belongs to Esau. By O..,