Life, 1907-03-07 · page 21 of 52
Life — March 7, 1907 — page 21: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical article about early American colonial history, accompanied by two cartoons mocking Puritan severity. The top cartoon, "A Salem Witch," depicts colonial authorities persecuting an accused witch—referencing the actual Salem witch trials (1692), where hysteria led to executions. The caption "This wouldn't drive us to church nowadays" sarcastically suggests modern people wouldn't need such extreme coercion to attend services. The lower cartoon shows "Sunday Morning in New England, 1620," depicting colonists being forcibly driven to church—illustrating the rigid religious compulsion of Puritan society. The accompanying text humorously contrasts colonial Philadelphia's historical reputation (scrapple and *The Ladies' Home Journal*) with modern reformers like Lincoln Steffens and editor Edward Bok. It also praises William Penn's virtue while poking fun at Poor Richard (Benjamin Franklin's alter ego) for his modest circumstances. The overall satire mocks both Puritan intolerance and celebrates how American society has supposedly evolved beyond such religious severity—while gently ribbing contemporary figures and institutions.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
ena —_—— a 341 A SALEM WITCH SUNDAY MORNING IN NEW ENGLAND, 1620 TAS WOULDN'T DRIVE US TO CHURCH NOWADAYS was not then inaugurated, and_ politics were in their infancy, but there was deathly stillness enough, even then, to go round. Until Mr. Lincoln Steffens discovered the shame of the cities, Philadelphia was thought to be famous for nothing but scrapple and The Ladies’ Home Journal. Scrapple is made of meal and hog’s liver, or whatever is handy, and people eat it in order to ki vake. When by any over- sight they eat too much, they have The Ladies’ Home Journal for an antidote. This famous publication was established by Benjamin Franklin, and with the limited facilities at his command he doubtless did the best he could, but it remained for Mr. Edward Bok to make it too sweet for almost anything. Poor Richard had no fewer than three titles to his sobriquet was worth less than ten millions, he weighed only 106 pounds and he lived in Philadelphia. ‘Tradition says that Philadelphia once had a mayor whom right-thinking people (they are very numerous in Philadelphia) regarded with distrust, and therefore prayed for vehemently ; so vehemently, indeed, that almost before they knew it he had become a reformer of the most virulent type and by the time they had backed water and got him quicted down, he had made the place look as if a cyclone had struck it. William Penn, the founder of Philadel- phia, was famous for his goodness and his leisurely way of going about it. His panegyrists aver that among all his volu- minous correspondence, there is not a single letter which ends with ‘Excuse haste and a bad Penn.” The Jamestown colonists, being a sim- comicbooks.com