Judge, 1892-01-16 · page 1 of 16
Judge — January 16, 1892 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1892 *Judge* cartoon critiques railroad safety conditions. The skeletal figure represents Death, standing watch over an exhausted railroad worker slumped on a crate. A sign reading "The Great Boom Line" references railroad expansion during the 1880s-90s economic boom. Posted notices detail the worker's plight: "Dividends Increased," "Expenses Cut Down," "Overworked 18 Hours a Day," and "Poorly Paid." The satire argues that railroad companies prioritized profits over worker safety—cutting costs while demanding excessive labor from underpaid workers. The accompanying text explicitly blames "an inadequate force of men" handling freight increases, with poor workers unable to "neglect their duties." Death's presence suggests fatal consequences of this exploitative system.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOL.22 NO.535 JANUARY I6 1892 PRICE 10 CENTS. ENTERED AT THE PoSt OFrice AT New YORK AB SECONO-CLASS MATTER, Copymonr 1892 By Tne Juooe Pustisnine Co, eS s BOOM LIN “DIVIDENDS INCREASED THE WONDER IS THAT THERE ARE NOT MORE ACCIDENT: The railroads all over the country are attempting to handle an enormous increase in freight with an inadequate force of men. The poor men are sadly overworked, and cannot help but neglect their duties, comicbooks.com