Judge, 1881-11-19 · page 1 of 16
Judge — November 19, 1881 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
# The Judge, November 19, 1881 This cartoon satirizes bank directors who willfully ignore financial mismanagement or fraud. A well-dressed man (labeled "Mr. Baldy") presents falsified account books showing inflated figures ($2,000,000 repeated). The seated directors—caricatured as elderly, portly men—refuse to scrutinize his records, citing respect for his "honesty" and claiming his poor handwriting makes verification impossible. The satire targets deliberate negligence: the directors know examination would reveal wrongdoing but choose not to look. The phrase "None so blind as those who won't see" emphasizes their willful ignorance. This likely reflects real banking scandals of the 1880s era, when inadequate oversight and director collusion enabled embezzlement. The cartoon criticizes both dishonest bankers and complicit board members who prioritized appearances of respectability over actual accountability.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Ni U i : \ Zs ome = ENTERED AT THE POST OFMiGe AT NEW YORK AS SECONO CLASS MATTER COPYRIGHT (861 SY THE J PUBLISHING CO. Price NEW YORK, NOVEMBER 19th, 1881. 10 Cents “NONE SO BLIND AS THOSE WHO WON'T SEE.” Chorus of Bank_Directors:~ ‘Examine your books, Mr. Baldy! Never, Sir. To question your honesty would be @ reflection upon our Fossilized respectability. Besides, your hand-writing is so hard to read, you know.” comicbooks.com