Life — May 28, 1903 — page 4: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Life Magazine, May 28, 1903 — Political Commentary The main cartoon depicts **Governor Pennypucker of Pennsylvania** as a caricatured figure standing on a pedestal labeled "BUNCE" (slang for nonsense). The satire criticizes his new libel law designed to protect newspapers from criticism—a law the text calls "a blunder." The accompanying article about **Richard Henry Stoddard**, a deceased New York poet and critic, shifts to discussing Russia's pogroms against Jews in Kishineff (modern Kishinev). The piece notes how American newspapers and public figures could have commemorated the violence more formally, but political inconvenience caused postponement. Both pieces critique governmental overreach: Pennsylvania's libel law silencing press criticism, and Russia's violence against minorities—with America's muted response.