Captain Billy's Whiz Bang #24 — page 40: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains a lengthy poem rather than a cartoon. The poem presents a woman's defense of her moral character and maternal love despite being socially condemned as "base" and having "gone astray"—Victorian-era terminology for unmarried motherhood. The speaker contrasts herself with "good" women who wear wedding rings, claiming she answered the same "call" of love but without marriage's legitimacy. She defends her child as equally worthy and describes her maternal devotion (warm milk, soft words, kind hands). The poem appeals to a future "judgment day" when social prejudices will be abandoned and society will recognize that loving mothers—regardless of marital status—deserve dignity and explanation rather than condemnation. This reflects early 20th-century social satire criticizing rigid moral double standards regarding unwed mothers.