Life, 1920-01-08 · page 14 of 44
Life — January 8, 1920 — page 14: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes presidential candidates through a mock "application process." The text presents humorous qualification questions (e.g., "Can you say any paper and know where to find it at the end of the week?" and "Have you ever made an after-dinner speech any where and been asked to come again?"). The cartoon titled "THE MAN WHO DOESN'T BELIEVE IN SIGNS" depicts a well-dressed man ignoring obvious workplace signs like "NO SMOKING," "FRESH PAINT," and "OUT OF ORDER"—satirizing politicians who disregard rules or public opinion. The accompanying sketch shows a woman frustrated with her husband's political talk, mocking how presidential ambitions intrude on domestic life. The satire targets the pretensions and obliviousness of political candidates circa the 1910s-1920s.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE* Our Presidential Department RESIDENTIAL candidates are now the order of the day. Applications should be sent to this office, where they will be placed on file and all claims duly considered. Applicants for the office of President should be able to read and write and repeat the words and music of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” A reading of the Constitution of the United States, while not essential, is suggested. Before filing your applica- tion, fill out the following efficiency blank. If per- fect in each requirement, mark ten after the question. If only half perfect, mark five, and so on. To pass into our Presidential List of Preferred Candidates requires a mark of seventy-five or over. 1. Can you file away any paper and know where to find it at the end of a week? Are you willing to acknowledge publicly that your sense of humor isn’t what is should be? (Give one sample story as evidence.) Which do you prefer—the works of Harold Bell Wright or Joseph Conrad? Have you ever been able to adopt a morning system of exercise recommended by a friend and keep it up more than three days? Could you, as a test of will power, read through one copy of the Congressional Record? Have you ever made an after-dinner speech any where and heen asked to come again? THE MAN WHO DOESN'T BELIEVE IN SIGNS SNPS SSNS WMH Mrs. Smith: 1 wis you'p COME OVER AND SEF MY HUSBAND, DOCTOR, IIS TEMPERATURE WAS NORMAL THIS MOKNING, BUT HE GOT TALKING TO ME ABOUT Til ADMINISTRATION AT WASHINGTON, AND NOW HE'S LIRIOUS AGAIN When you write out a check, do you always rer ber to put down the amount in the stub? Can you explain, in simple language, the real mean- ing of an income-tax report? Any insurance pol An editorial in the New York Tinie. If a senator of the United States called you up ove the telephone, could you answer him pleasa Name in advance some men you would like in your Cabinet Do you know upon what occasions to wear a top Can you change a typewriter ribbon without getting red in the face and swearing profusely? In case you are elected, will you let us select all the foreign ambassadors? State honestly and fearlessly whether, when you are installed in the White House, you or your wife will select the new decorations. In order to enter as a Presidential Candidate it is not necessary to become a subscriber. Lire is nothing if not broad and liberal in its comicbooks.com in