Life — March 6, 1924 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Page Analysis: Life Magazine, "We Want Doheny!" This editorial cartoon critiques government corruption and inefficiency. The headline "We Want Doheny!" appears to reference Edward Doheny, an oil magnate involved in the Teapot Dome scandal of the early 1920s—a major corruption case where government officials secretly leased federal oil reserves to private interests. The editorial argues for selecting competent Cabinet members and eliminating "middlemen" in government. It mocks how officials operate on commission-based salesmanship rather than public service, suggesting the government has become a corrupt apparatus serving private wealth. The cartoon illustrations (showing absurd creatures and scenarios) reinforce the satirical tone that current governance is ridiculous and needs reforming through selecting honest, straightforward leaders like "Doheny and Sinclair"—likely sarcastically naming the very figures implicated in corruption scandals.