Life — June 23, 1921 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The New Immorality" by Montague Glass This satire criticizes the hypocrisy of morality enforcers. The article describes legal cases against individuals for violating obscenity laws and child welfare statutes—defendants prosecuted for minor infractions like dispensing headache medicine without prescription or taking children to theatrical performances. The cartoon illustrates the irony: a well-dressed official sits reading a "Liberty Bonds" newspaper while three stern-looking men (likely judges or prosecutors) stand before him. The caption reads: "I'M SORRY, GENTLEMEN, BUT JUST NOW, WHEN WE'RE TRYING IN EVERY WAY TO CUT DOWN EXPENSES—" The joke targets governmental and institutional hypocrisy: authorities zealously enforce minor moral violations against ordinary citizens while comfortably compromising their own principles through financial necessity or self-interest.