Life, 1926-12-30 · page 24 of 37
Life — December 30, 1926 — page 24: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a reader-participation contest page from *Life* magazine (January 1927). The cartoon depicts a political exchange between President Calvin Coolidge and **Wayne B. Wheeler**, a prominent Prohibition advocate and Anti-Saloon League leader. The satire targets the contradiction between Wheeler's dry (Prohibition) stance and public voting patterns favoring "wet" (anti-Prohibition) candidates. Readers are invited to complete Wheeler's excuse—his "alibi"—explaining away this disconnect to convince Coolidge that Americans still support Prohibition, despite electoral evidence to the contrary. This mocks Prohibition's unpopularity and the intellectual gymnastics its defenders performed to deny public opposition. The contest itself is satirical commentary on how unconvincing such alibis would necessarily be, given the obvious gap between Prohibition policy and democratic will.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Conditions of the Contest Read these carefully: EACH week we will publish a different picture in the ALIBI CONTEST — the picture this week being marked “ALIBI NUMBER THREE.” The first prize of $50.00 will be awarded each week to the contestant who, in the opinion of the judges, furnishes the cleverest and most con- vincing conclusion to the sentence which starts, “Well, you see, it’s this wa "y second prizes of $10.00 each will be awarded to the runners-up. Answers must not exceed twenty- five words in length; this word limit, however, is not intended to include the captions under the Contest pic- tures as originally published in Lire. There is no limit to the number of answers to cach Contest picture that any one contestant may submit. Nor is it necessary for a contestant to submit answers to more than one of the Contest pictures to be eligible for a prize. The judges will be three of the Editors of Lire. In the event of a tie, the full amount of the prize will be awarded to each of the tying contestants. Answers should be typewritten or clearly written on one side of the paper. The judges cannot under- take to return any of the manu- scripts that are submitted in this Contest to ALIBI NUMBER should be so marked, and sent to ALIBI CONTEST EDI- TOR, Lire, 598 Madison Avenue, New York City. All answers to ALIBI NUMBER THREE must reach Lire’s office before 12 noon on January 13, 1927. Announce- ment of the winners will be made in the issue of February 3, 1927. The Contest is open to all and is not limited to subscribers to Lire. Members of Lire’s staff, and their familics, are barred from competi- tion. Life yas is the third week Great Alibi Con Even though you may have missed the pre- ceding Alibi Pictures, you can enter the Contest now and be eligible for this week's prize. Study carefully the situation de- picted by Herb Roth below. Try to evolve an Alibi for Wayne B. Wheeler which will convince Presi- dent Coolidge that public opinion still favors Prohibition. Express this Alibi in twenty-five words (or less) and send it in to the Alibi Contest Editor. Remember— the twenty-five-word limit applies only to your Alibi, and does not in- clude the printed caption beneath the picture. ach contestant may send in as many answers to this Contest as he or she desires. But all answers to ALIBI NUMBER THREE must reach Lire’s s office not later than twelve noon on January 13, 1927, The prizes are as follows: First Prize, $50.00 Five Second Prizes of $10.00 each These prizes will be awarded to those who, in the opinion of the judges, submit the cleverest and most convincing Alibis to fit the situation in the accompanying picture. ALIBI NUMBER FOUR will be published in Lire next week, with a new set of prizes offered. Read the conditions carefully— and go to it! [ ALIBI NUMBER THREE | President Coolidge: TUE PEOPLE SEEM TO BE VOTING WET IN EVERY ELECTION. > HOW DOES THAT HAPPE Wayne B. Wheeler: wert—you sre, 17's THIS WAY... comicbooks.com