Life, 1884-03-06 · page 8 of 16
Life — March 6, 1884 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Political Cartoon Analysis: "When a Murder is Committed in the Eastern States" This cartoon by W.A. Twain contrasts criminal justice procedures between regions. In the Eastern States, the process is orderly: "We do everything decently and in order." Within six months, "The Murderer is locked up" and his portrait appears in official police publications. However, the bottom panel shows the "Brutal West" operates differently—depicting what appears to be a lynching scene with a crowd gathered around a tree, suggesting extrajudicial execution rather than legal process. The satire critiques Western vigilantism and mob justice as primitive compared to Eastern legal procedures. This reflects early 20th-century anxieties about lawlessness in frontier regions versus established Eastern legal systems.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
When a Murder i in the Eastern States — 5 |, Uufe*do exery thing decently | and in order: “Inthe course of six months or So The Murdecer is Locked up “Portrait” 151 Published in. the Official Oran of the Fare