Dick Maple

Palaces of Sin, or The Devil in Society Dick Maple

"Colonel" Dick Maple was the fanciful pen name for Seth McCallen, who penned a great many highly polemical works. He wrote this particular work against alcohol and nightlife. In particular, he guards readers against women in corsets, who drink or otherwise dabble in lifestyles or actions he finds unseemly. The women in his stories often come to sad endings as a result of their desire to enjoy equal opportunities with men in vice and pleasure. McCallen was far from a person anyone should take seriously. He is known for writing and publishing some of the most extraordinarily vile and racist diatribes in The National Rip-Saw. In 1910, McCallen had a stroke, but the publisher hired W. S. Morgan in order to imitate his hateful style. Thankfully, the style and messages were so unappealing and subscriptions dropped so low that the magazine had to send issues to random addresses to fulfill advertising terms.