Life, 1906-08-02 · page 15 of 40
Life — August 2, 1906 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains three satirical pieces mocking early 1900s American institutions: **"A Judicial Dramatic Criticism":** Life ridicules New York courts for officially censoring George Bernard Shaw's play *Mrs. Warren's Profession*—about a woman in a morally compromising profession. The court's own decision ironically admits the play isn't even that attractive, yet prosecuted it anyway. Life sarcastically praises this as a "tribute" to Anthony Comstock (a famous anti-obscenity crusader) and Police Commissioner McAdoo, while mocking their "narrow-minded" censorship. **"A Significant Discovery":** A brief jab at German Emperor Wilhelm II, whose genealogy was supposedly traced to King David. Life uses heavy irony: if the Kaiser descends from Christianity's founder, shouldn't that strengthen faith? The sarcasm suggests this discovery is meaningless propaganda. **"If Things Don't Mend":** A cartoon criticizing government spending excess. A senator votes for enormous appropriations (Post Office, canals, forestry, Philippines, battleships, Treasury reserves) totaling millions, yet admits being personally broke and asks a citizen for a five-dollar loan. The satire exposes the disconnect between senators' lavish public spending and their individual financial irresponsibility.
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Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LIFE: 127 A Judicial Dramatic Criticism ‘T ISN'T often that dramatic criticism ‘ fa i is put on the records as an official judicial decision. This has been done, however, by New York’s Court of Special S (> Sessions in the case of the prosecution of Mr. George Bernard Shaw's ‘* Mrs. Warren’s Profession.” The learned Court in its decision, discussing the complaint, says, among other things: “The dramatist has in this play used old and hackneyed materials, the common tools of scores of other playwrights, but he has used them more boldly. It must be said for him that he has made vice less attractive than many other dramatists whose plays have never received the censorious attention of the police. % In fact, there is so little that is attractive that it is safe to predict, without the preliminary sensational advertisement of this proposed production, its life on the boards would be short.” This is virtually what Lire said in its criticism of the play. The whole hysterical proceeding is a high tribute to the good sense of Anthony Comstock, ex-Police Com- missioner McAdoo and the narrow-minded element in the community which incited the prosecution. A Significant Discovery ‘The German Emperor's pedigree has been traced back to King David.—The Cable SCIDEDLY, this should strengthen the hands of Christianity, since it makes the founder of that religion a cousin of the reign- ing Hohenzollern. Blood, of course, is thicker than water. We shall all enjoy sceing the dreary higher critics got in a corner where they will have to shut up or incur the very real perils of lese majesty. F MR. ROOSEVELT were the exclusive asset of any one party, might it not constitute a too glaring instance of dangerously excessive wealth ? A MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM If Things Don’t Mend : Well, Senator, what did you do at to-day's SENATOR: I voted to give an extra appropriation of $7,000,- ooo annually to the Post Office Department, $15,295,746.83 for additional canal work, $2,900,009 toward the forestry work, $3,674,052 for something or other in the Philippin $5,537,007 for two new battleships, and lastly I put through my pet bill to increase the Government reserve in the Treasury to at least $800,000,000. By the way, have you got a fiver vrretis jt dicho appr us commonTaave'yaetaiNe about you anywhere? I'm a little short. Thanks. Send it PEOPLE 70 LET THEIR CONSCIENCTS DO THE PRICKING around to you in a couple of days. comicbooks.com