Life, 1928-10-05 · page 11 of 48
Life — October 5, 1928 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This Will Rogers column satirizes a presidential candidate who refuses the "ballyhoo" of campaigning—specifically avoiding showmanship and spectacle. Rogers criticizes fellow candidates (names partially unclear in OCR) who spend their time making speeches to farmers and staging theatrical productions. The cartoon depicts Al Smith's Broadway show "East Side, West Side" playing to wealthy audiences in formal dress, contrasting with the candidate's claimed focus on farming communities. Rogers's point: the candidate claims dignity over showmanship while his associates literally perform on stage. The satire suggests hypocrisy—they reject political theatricality while embracing entertainment theater, and ignore actual farmers' concerns in favor of city spectacle. The humor targets the contradiction between stated campaign values and actual behavior.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
LIFE OUR CANDIDATE SPURNS THE BALLYHOO “I Hope There Is Some Sane People Who Will Appreciate Dignity and Not Showmanship in Their Choice for the Presidency” lv the course of events I had to come est, lam the only Candidate that is tend- ing to his own business and not to the people's. * These other two fellows (I can’t think if their naines offhand), they are devot- ing their entire time to nothing but gending money and time trying to show iat the country will perhaps be on a ksel with Nicaragua if they are not pot in charge of it. Now I come back here to work and larry on my private business. Jam not going out around the country ing a monkey of myself just to let people see what kind of a man they would have in the White House if elected, I did all that before I was nominated. Why do we nominate men that we don't know what they look like? Now Al went west just about the time I come cast. This move was not pre- meditated on my part, and I don’t think by WILL ROGERS he knew that I was coming east, but anyhow he picked that time to invade my territory. Omaha is my particular stronghold, Cowboy Mayor Dahlman is my friend and Smith could stay there a year and not win him over. Al made a speech to the farmers, or what he thought was farmers. They was actually Merchants, and Clerks, and Boot- leggers, and Policemen and just the very kind of crowd he would have in Newark, or the Bronnx. There was no farmers there, Omaha is not a Farmer’s town, It’s a City, and a farmer wouldent have any more chance petting into a Hall there than he would ave making an opening night in New York. When Smith went to Omaha, that was a show to them. The people there had seen plenty of movies, but they had never had a “straight from New York production, with the original cast.” So naturally they all turned out. Why wouldent they? It was big open- ing night for Omaha. Now where was some stray farmer go- ing to get in? He dident know any specu- lators to get tickets from. Al thought the Boys would all be in the hall sitting on their plows, and maby for a stage they would have a Threshing machine, He dident know that Omaha was full of City slickers and Gangsters just like ony other city, and the same way in Oklahoma City. Al thought the Indians would ride into the hall on their Ponies and hear him tell “What the Indian needed.” But there again what did he run into? Why the place was all clogged up with Oil Millionaires, the same as he had left in New York. Here he had come to Oklahoma to SPECIAL PERFORMANCE FoR WESTERN "FARMERS® DIRECT FROM A LONG RUN ON BROADWAY—— WITH THE ORIGINAL NEW YORK CAST comicbooks.com