Life, 1915-05-20 · page 11 of 44
Life — May 20, 1915 — page 11: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page contains two unrelated items: **Top cartoon**: Shows a social gathering where a hostess complains guests arrived nearly an hour late. The joke plays on gender dynamics—a man claims men and women are alike in that both "despise women," suggesting misogynistic attitudes were common enough to be satirized. **"Another Sullivan Bill" article**: Discusses a Boston bill to suppress the film "The Birth of a Nation." The piece argues against censorship laws, noting that objections to this film (which depicts Black people negatively and glorifies the KKK) are actually *stronger* than previous objections to anti-Catholic films like "The Menace." The satire critiques selective moral outrage while defending free speech principles. **Bottom section**: An unrelated brief joke about literary people.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
© Orfe CusBag Hostess: Miss: HE: Are men and women alike in any respect, think you? He: Yes, they both despise women. POKER TERM KINGS FULL ON FOURS Ox SF MOTE a f YOU HAVE KEPT US ALL WAITING NEARLY AN BUT JUST THINK, I MIGHT NOT HAVE COME AT ALL! Another Sullivan Bill A’ this writing a Sullivan bill is under discussion in Boston, It may be recalled that there was a Sullivan bill at Washington in Decem- ber to keep the -Catholic Menace out of the mails. This Boston bill has a like intent, but a different object, and has a different Sullivan behind it. Its purpose is to expel the movie play, “The Birth of a Nation”, from Massachusetts, The negroes don't like this movie any better than Roman Catholics like the Menace. In our opinion, “The Birth of a Nation”, in spite of its notable merits as a spectacle, is a bad show; pernicious in spirit and mischievous in intent. But whén it comes to passing a special law to suppress it, the objections to that—as in the case of the Menace—are stronger than the objections to the show. The habit HOUR. of suppression for racial or religious reasons, whether of shows or news- papers, is a bad one to contract. The police have power to stop shows that are indecent or disorderly, and the postmaster can throw bad publica- tions out of the mails. Let it go at that. Meanwhile, the row over “The Birth of a Nation” has been a wonderful advertisement for that movie. Every- body in New England will have to see it Has the Dog a Soul? All Business ADGE: I'd rather not meet him, I don't like literary people. Marjorie: But you'll like Mr. Best- seller. He isn’t literary at all. comicbooks.com