Life, 1912-10-10 · page 15 of 48
Life — October 10, 1912 — page 15: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This is a satirical story illustrated by O.R. Cushing, written by John Kendrick Bangs. It depicts a corrupt police chief who extracts a false confession from a poor prisoner accused of stealing jewels. When the actual owner (Mrs. de Sykes) calls to report finding the jewels in her own bureau, the chief refuses to release the prisoner—instead beating him into insensibility to punish him for "perjury" and maintain the appearance of police authority. The satire targets **police corruption and abuse of power**: the chief prioritizes protecting institutional "Majesty of the Law" over actual justice. The irony is sharp—the prisoner is punished not for the crime he didn't commit, but for confessing to it when ordered. The epigraph from Henry VIII adds dark humor, comparing the prisoner's predicament to courtly obedience. This reflects 1951 anxieties about authoritarian policing and the vulnerability of poor defendants to frame-ups and coercion.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“LbEPE- 1951 Queen Tafterine: Sit, | am a most poor woman! . at all times to your will conformable the Chief, with a frown. “ There weren't any rubies.” “TI should have said diamonds,” groaned the prisoner. “When I saw that bunch of baubles there within reach of my hand I simply couldn't re- sist the temptation, and I took’em. God forgive me for the liar that I am!” Here the unhappy wight, with a terrified glance at the red glow of the stove, burst into a torrent of tears. “Poor chap! Poor chap!” said the Chief of Police, sympathetically. “In spite of all my warnings he has de- Eberately placed the halter around his neck!” “ Ting-a-ling-a-ling!" rang the tele- phone. “Yes?” said the Chief, taking down er. “Who is this?—What? Oh, Mrs. de Sykes.—Very glad to hear from you, Mrs. de S: We have cur man. He's just confessed. What?—What’s that?—I’m afraid I don’t hear correctly. You say it’s all a mistake?—You've found the jewels in your bureau drawer? Well! well! well! Good-by!” There was a prolonged silence. “Ain’t that just like a woman!” muttered the Chief. “And I can go?” cried the prisoner, overjoyed. “Not on your life, you can’t roared the Chief, clubbing the prisoner over the head with his night-stick. “You've sworn to this confession, and, ty hokey, I’m going to hold you for the re Alas, sir, in what have I offended you? glad, or sorry, as I saw it inclined. I have been Henry VIII, Act Il. perjury. We'll teach these fresh guys what it means to tamper with the Majesty of the Law!” Whereupon the prisoner was beaten into a state of insensibility, and upon his recovery and discharge from the hospital, he will face the indictment now pending against him for the double crime of perjury and resisting an officer. “Gee, Chief,” said the Sergeant that night, as they were cleaning up the day’s work, “d'yer know I thought you had them jools in your pocket all the time.” “No,” said the Chief. “Not this time. I thought it was one o’ them outside jobs.” John Kendrick Bangs. comicbooks.com