Puck — June 26, 1878 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Puck page satirizes corruption involving Brooklyn churches. The main image shows a demonic figure emerging from a box labeled "FRAUD," suggesting moral corruption hidden beneath religious institutions. The smaller cartoons mock specific scandals: 1. **Top panel**: A well-dressed man with many children, captioned about "unappropriated children"—likely satirizing a clergyman fathering illegitimate children while claiming respectability. 2. **Middle panel**: Shows a "Bitter Experience" involving what appears to be a bar or hotel, suggesting hypocrisy (religious figures in immoral establishments). 3. **Bottom panel**: Documents being deposited "in the corner-stones of churches in Brooklyn"—implying churches were used to hide incriminating evidence of crimes and financial scandals. The satire exposes the gap between Brooklyn churches' public piety and private corruption.