Life — June 24, 1920 — page 12: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Political Cartoon & Satire Analysis **"Witchcraft"** (top illustration) depicts an old man with a telescope confronting a young woman in a bonnet. The cartoon satirizes Miles Standish, the Pilgrim leader mentioned in the article below, who is "interviewed on the deck of R.M.S. Mayflower" by the Associated Press in Plymouth, Massachusetts on December 21st. The "witchcraft" title suggests Standish represents old-fashioned Puritan attitudes. The telescope implies he's examining or scrutinizing the modern woman—likely referencing his criticism of contemporary American women's morality, which he claims has been "shaken" by modern dances and attitudes. The satire mocks his stern, puritanical judgmentalism against progressive American society.