Life, 1895-09-12 · page 5 of 16
Life — September 12, 1895 — page 5: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Analysis **Main Cartoon ("The Best of Reasons"):** This depicts a religious scene—a woman and child viewing what appears to be a statue of Saint Sebastian (identifiable by the arrows protruding from the figure). The caption quotes dialogue: "Do you remember, Julian, why they shot poor Saint Sebastian full of arrows?" "Cause they hadn't any gun." This is gallows humor—a dark joke that inverts the historical tragedy of Sebastian's martyrdom into absurdist comedy by suggesting the arrows were merely a weapon of convenience rather than religious persecution. **"A Good Work" Article:** The accompanying text advocates Sunday saloon closures in New York City, arguing the liquor business is "greatly overdone" and that closing saloons one day weekly would drive unprofitable establishments out of business—presented as beneficial to the city.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
THE BEST OF REASONS. “Do YOU REMEMBER, JULIAN, WHY THEY SHOT POOR SAINT SERASTIAN FULL OF ARROWS?" “CAUSE THEY HADN'T ANY GUN.” “NOT A CROOKED MAIR IN HIS HEAD.” A GOOD WORK. VERY inter- esting result of the closing of the New York saloons on Sunday, is the discovery that the retail liquor business in New York has been greatly overdone. Hundreds of saloon keepers will be dri- ven out of business because the profits of six days trade are not sufficient to pay their week- ly expenses. Every saloon keeper who depends upon his Sunday trade for his profits is super- fluous, and the sooner he goes to work at some new industry the better. If Sunday closing drove half the saloon keepers in New York out of business it would be a great gain to the city. Good for Sunday closing!