Life, 1899-09-14 · page 3 of 20
Life — September 14, 1899 — page 3: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# Historical Context: "The Boston Tea Party" Satire This page satirizes the **Dreyfus Affair**, a major French scandal involving a Jewish military officer falsely accused of treason. The "Abysmal" section mocks French military "justice" by comparing it unfavorably to even the most corrupt practices—suggesting French officers are worse than Anglo-Saxon villains. The "Maternal" section presents a satirical mother-son dialogue mocking American reverence for wealth ("the Willies," slang for millionaires). The child asks if Barnum (P.T. Barnum, famous American showman/huckster) went to heaven, and the mother replies he had "the best show on earth"—suggesting Americans worship commerce over morality. The title references the Boston Tea Party, likely to contrast American and French justice systems ironically.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Abysmal. HERE is a scries of qualities in the French military mind that brings de- spair to the Anglo- Saxon. For snake-like malice, for contempt for justice, for ignorance of the first. principles of truth and honor, the civ- ilized world has never seen its parallel, The French Gene- rals have been likened to boys, but this is un- just to the average American boy over four years of age, as the average American boy at that period of development is not HISTORICAL BITS. Ww. TUK BOSTON TRA PARTY, venomously vindictive, neither is he a fool, And this French folly is of a nature so pretentious and complacent, so bombastic and so garrulous, that reason melts before it, But the cruelest thoughts that follow this Dreyfus trial are those that come when retlecting on all the other victims who had no Zola fora champion. Think of the Dreyfuses who have gone to their gravea, or to perpetual disgrace, convicted by a tribunal of French officers! What hope for innocence itself? What use for justice before a gang of men whose con- tempt for impartial evidence was presum- ably undisguised? And the fact that France was amazed at the universal dis- gust of the outside worldis tolerably good evidence that Frenchmen have long been accustomed to their present fantastic methods. Maternal. “ OTHER,may wo go out to Mirt?” “Why, yes, little sillies, Keep in touch with the millionaires, But don’t go near tho Willies.” you €€T)O you think Barnum went to heaven 2?” “Well, I don’t know; they say he wat can't be cured may nevertheless be doc- tored. PHOTOGRAPHIC TERM: “A LONG EXPOSURE.”