Life — November 2, 1916 — page 17: what you’re looking at

Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.

‘LIFE: FTER a careful duplicate reading of the 41,840 titles eligible in this contest, 338 were finally selected to be submitted to the judges. One thousand two hundred and forty-three of the submitted titles were rejected as not complying with the conditions of the contest. By a gradual process of elimination the eligible replies were reduced to seven. Each judge, acting independently, ranked these in the order of their merit, and by a mathematical process, which scientifically recorded the combined opinion of all the judges, the award was made to the title, “TI could stand this a little longer,” sent in by Mr. George B. Worthington, of Chula Vista, California. There were other titles embodying very much the same idea as the one chosen, but this was the best ex- pression of it. In judging the answers, every one concerned acted with the knowledge that the title selected would be scanned by thousands of bright eyes and weighed by thousands of ‘ intelligent minds. Titles which at first glance seemed especially fitting, upon closer analysis showed that while they applied to one picture they did not fit the other, or some similar defect that might rouse just criticism from some of Lire’s alert readers. To illustrate this point, let us take one answer that seemed especially apt—“ A sensation aft.” There is no question of its applicability to the dog picture. In the other picture there seems to be no question of the sensa- tion, but is it really “aft? As the young man is a sailor and not an officer, it would seem entirely unlikely that he and the young woman would be conducting their osculatory practice “aft”; it would be more according to naval etiquette under the guns of the forward turret. Therefore, the application of the title to the second picture would not be correct, although on first consideration the title seemed an excellent one and to apply equally well to both pictures. This instance is quoted to show that the final decision was reached with great care and not in haphazard fashion. Among the titles sent in were some which some readers of Lire, and of course the competitors who sent them in, will regard as superior to the one chosen. Those readers The Winning Title “*I Could Stand This a Little Longer”’ Secures the prize of $500 should remember that the judges had no personal interest except to select the title which, all things considered and according to their experience and judgment, best complied with the requirements of the competition. Among the best of those eliminated were: A fellow who wishes to be re-membered. A temporary tie-up. T'll never, never shake you. When the cutter leaves. His finish. Pretty close. Will mortification ensue? Tale-bearers not wanted. How short it seems! No more chasing around and around, An expression of joint tenderness, No thoughts for the front, Too short. Just docked. And so on, and so on, without end. A soothing application of tar. A tail that will never grow old. Why doesn’t Josephus put a stop to this? A chance for cats to gossip. Why he wasn’t wig-wagging. Tender moments. Yours without end. Tender in the extreme. AS IT SEEMS TO SOME OF US! comicbooks.com