Millions for Show – Nothing
for Charity
Puck: "No, my poor woman, there's no money to spare. It has all gone to the church!"
Puck Magazine Cover
Vol. 1 No. 18, July 11, 1877
9 "w x 12 1/2 "h
This caricature targets the hypocrisy of the Catholic church. In the
arch above the window on the left is the legend: Thou
shalt love thy neighbor as thyself, if he be not a Jew. The window
depicts St. Milton and the Jew. A winged St. Milton holds large
scissors and a yardstick as he stands over his victim.
The plaque at the top of the corner reads: Church of the Immaculate
Yardstick.
Beneath it are sculptures of two women and a man. One woman holds a banner
marked $3 Per Week and beneath her are the words No Trust.
In the lower right the Pope and his cardinals admire the sculpture. Above
them in the arched doorway are the following phrases:
I am the soverign of dry-goods; thou shalt have not other sovereign
but me ...
Honor thy Stewart and thy Hilton that thy days may be long in the place
which A.T.S. & Co. have given thee.
Thou shalt not steal – into the Grand Union Hotel without a permit.
In the lower left, a woman holding a small child begs while Puck
tells her there's no money to spare. Behind her is a plaque that reads: In
Memoriam: 1,000 Small Business Men.