Judge — March 29, 1924 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon equates King Solomon—famous in Biblical tradition for his many wives—with Brigham Young, the Mormon leader known for practicing polygamy. The joke "scrambles" history by imagining Solomon visiting Young's household. The image shows an enormous procession of people (Solomon's "family") approaching a modest house where Young and his household await. The visual humor derives from the absurd contrast: even Solomon's legendary multiple marriages pale beside the implied scale of Young's polygamous arrangements. This is anti-Mormon satire playing on 19th-century American anxieties about polygamy. By comparing Young to Solomon, the cartoonist mocks Mormon practice as biblically archaic and excessive. The "week-end visit" framing adds comedic exaggeration—suggesting Young's household is so large it requires a biblical-scale gathering to visit it.