Judge — August 5, 1905 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains two cartoon panels illustrating "Zim's Rhymes for Little Folks"—children's moral instruction content. **Top panel**: Shows a man knocked backward by exploding objects, with text about the world having "expedited all the fun-loving boys & girls" who "continued to tease." The satire targets a grouty (grumpy) killjoy character who refuses to enjoy life's pleasures. **Bottom panel**: Depicts the same disapproving figure contrasted with children at play and leisure. The rhyming text presents his self-righteous position: while others go to church to laugh and enjoy themselves, he alone attends to "worship and to weep." **The joke**: Judge satirizes joyless Puritanical attitudes toward religion and childhood fun. The cartoons mock excessive piety and suggest that refusing to participate in innocent pleasures marks someone as disagreeable and out of step—a common Progressive-era critique of strict Victorian moralism.