Judge — September 21, 1889 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge cartoon satirizes the end of summer vacation season (likely late 1800s) and its economic consequences. The central figure is a rural farmer frustrated by "summer-boarders"—wealthy urbanites who rented countryside lodgings during hot months. While these visitors provided income, they damaged property (shown by the destroyed cabin, scattered belongings, and fire). The farmer complains nobody will pay for repairs. Side panels show the exploitation trickle-down: a landlord's meager assets, waiters dividing tips and "left-over spoils," and street children scavenging remnants. The "summer calendar" listing only cold and stormy weather mocks the season's actual poor conditions despite tourism's appeal. The satire critiques both working-class dependence on seasonal tourism and the destructive carelessness of wealthy visitors—showing how summer leisure for the rich meant economic chaos and hardship for rural communities left with the damage.