Life — October 15, 1914 — page 24: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon depicts social problems as demons or dark forces blocking the entrance to a church. The labeled figures represent contemporary societal ills: an "Underpaying Department Store" employer, a "Landlord of Viciously used Property," an "Unsafe Railroad," "Liquor Interest," and "Banking Interest." The cartoon critiques how these institutions and practices—exploitative labor, slumlord conditions, unsafe transportation, alcohol, and financial corruption—present moral obstacles to the Church's mission. The stumbling, well-dressed men approaching the church symbolize society struggling against these vices. This appears to be early 20th-century muckraking satire, attacking capitalism's abuses and calling for social reform through religious/moral renewal.