Life, 1916-09-28 · page 13 of 41
Life — September 28, 1916 — page 13: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
The top cartoon depicts a street scene where adults are gathered, with a young boy being questioned about why he won't attend Sunday school. The boy's response criticizes Sunday school attendees as hypocrites who "curse and swear there and chew tobacco and stab people and steal" while claiming to be "gracious." He concludes he'd be "misunderstood" if he tried to behave morally there. This is social satire on religious hypocrisy—the joke being that the boy, despite (or because of) his youth, has accurately identified the gap between Christian moral teaching and actual behavior of churchgoers. The cartoon mocks the corruption of religious institutions and the phoniness of adult morality. The lower section contains unrelated literary content.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
“BUT WHY DON'T YOU LIKE TO GO TO SUNDAY SCHOOL, BopBY ?” “CAUSE YOU CAN'T CURSE AND SWEAR THERE AND CHEW TOBACCO AND STAB PEOPLE AND STEAL AND COMMIT MURDER.” “Gracious! BUT YOU DON’T DO ALL THOSE DREADFUL THINGS!” * “NO, MA’AM, BUT I DON'T LIKE ANY PLACE WHERE I WOULD BE MISUNDERSTOOD IF I TRIED TO. They may or may not do you good. Tue Doctor: But, my dear baby, have you no heart? Tue Bany (smothering him with a blanket): Mustn’t talk. I'll be in this afternoon to remove several of your internal organs, fill you full of serum and vaccinate you. Tue Doctor: But I won't stand it! T'll call in my old friend the govern- ment to protect me. Tue Basy: Shut up! Don't you know the government has just passed a law telling me I can do anything I please? Here! Swallow this half gal- lon of oil! Number Four Scexe—A laundry. Launpress: Come now, get to work. Feminist: But I want to expound a few theories. Launoress: I'll do that myself. You get some children and a drunken husband quick now. Feminist: But I'm so refined, and some one takes care of me so nicely, and I love to talk, and—— Launpress: Get busy, and give me a show. Feminist: But what will you do? Launpress: Do! What should I do? You'll be dealing in hot water, and I'll be dealing in hot air! Mineralogy 'HROUGHOUT the sapphire sum- mer days We roamed amid the rocks, And chrysolite and chrysoprase Were all her dainty frocks. Her eyes were amethyst; her hair Was topaz shimmering ; Her cheeks and lips were rubies fair; She seemed a precious thing. When autumn winds in mournful mass About the caves made moan, Alack, alas, it came to pass I found her heart was stone! Clinton Scollard. comicbooks.com