Judge — January 20, 1883 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon advocates for replacing pistols with boxing gloves in street fights—a humorous call to make dueling or street violence "safer" by substituting one weapon for another. The page shows multiple scenes of courtroom and street chaos: judges presiding over disputes, men engaged in physical altercations, and civilians brawling with oversized boxing gloves and wheels/bicycles as improvised weapons. The central inset labeled "The Old and the New" contrasts traditional and contemporary conflict methods. The satire mocks both ineffective legal proceedings ("For the Use of the Jury") and the absurdity of street violence generally. By suggesting gloves replace pistols, the cartoon ridicules the notion that such superficial reforms address violence's root causes. It's social commentary on urban disorder and inadequate solutions to public safety issues in the Gilded Age.