Judge, 1886-05-08 · page 20 of 20
Judge — May 8, 1886 — page 20: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon depicts a labor dispute, likely from the early 1900s. A well-dressed judge or authority figure confronts a working man while a rougher character lurks behind them. The caption suggests the "workman" is being warned that violence or lawlessness will undermine their legitimate cause. The satire critiques how labor movements—which had public sympathy for "just causes"—risked losing support when violent agitators ("that rascal," "that ruffian") infiltrated their ranks. The "rough" character represents either an anarchist, outside agitator, or criminal exploiting workers' grievances for destructive ends. Judge's message: workers deserved fair treatment, but violent tactics would alienate public opinion and discredit their movement. This reflects period anxieties about labor unrest, anarchism, and class conflict in America.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
‘Worxman—Never fear, Mr Judge; this rascal is not one of us, and o: aaneeeee —_—_$——<___<$_$_$$_$_$ $s THE: ROUGH. Tam satieied that the great majority of the men have thelr hearts tn the right place, and havé no wish or intention to violate 'the law —Poxnderty. Jupaz—You have the sympathy of the public as long as your cause is just and you do not allow yourself to be dragged into scenes like this by that ruffian. nly takes advantage of our trouble, comicbooks.com