Life — September 5, 1918 — page 23: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical illustration depicting the chaotic experience of attempting to meet with a newspaper editor in Philadelphia. The cartoon shows a surreal, multi-layered obstacle course: the visitor must navigate through an elaborate indoor palace or building (top), traverse dangerous terrain including fire and water hazards (middle sections), and finally confront what appears to be a large dragonfly or mechanical creature (bottom). The joke satirizes the difficulty of gaining access to a busy newspaper editor—suggesting the appointment process is absurdly complicated and fraught with nearly insurmountable obstacles. It humorously exaggerates the barriers between ordinary people and those in positions of power and influence. The specific reference to "a Philadelphia paper" likely points to a particular publication's notoriously difficult editor, though the exact paper isn't identified here.