Judge — April 15, 1882 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon critiques labor strikes, likely from the early 1900s when strike activity was widespread. The top panel shows various striking groups—bootblacks, French nurses, and others—holding signs demanding "No Surrender" and fair treatment. The middle and lower panels mock the consequences: a judge presides over chaos; French nurses strike while children suffer; a cook strikes, forcing his fashionable wife to cook instead; and notably, dogs and cats continue working peacefully, labeled "The only ones who won't strike." The satire suggests strikes cause collateral damage to innocent parties (children, families) and create ridiculous inversions of social order. The final panel's joke—that only animals remain reliable workers—implies strikers are unreasonable or that labor unrest threatens civilization itself. The cartoon reflects an anti-strike, pro-establishment editorial stance common in mainstream publications of the era.