Life — February 16, 1911 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Boy Grafters": A Satirical Proposal This is satire mocking the Boy Scouts organization, founded by Baden-Powell and Ernest Thompson Seton. The text proposes an alternative "Boy Grafters" organization to teach American boys the "principles" of corruption and unethical conduct—what appears to be a biting critique of Gilded Age graft and corruption. The illustrations show boys at different ages (12, 14, 15 years) being trained in: handling money dishonestly, delivering bribes ("milk"), understanding property theft, learning manipulation, and eventually "buying a legislature" at seventeen. The satire targets widespread corruption in American politics and business of the era, suggesting that if Boys Scouts teach success-building skills, then logically a "Boy Grafters" organization could systematically train young people in the endemic corruption pervading American public life.