Judge, 1892-07-23 · page 8 of 16
Judge — July 23, 1892 — page 8: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This 1892 Judge cartoon satirizes the Homestead Strike—a violent labor dispute at Andrew Carnegie's steel mill in Homestead, Pennsylvania. The wage tables above show proposed pay cuts that sparked the conflict. The cartoon depicts personified political and economic forces as military combatants. Caricatured figures representing capital, labor interests, and political factions engage in battle before fortified positions. The "Free Trade" banner and references to "the two great political parties" suggest this addresses the broader tariff and labor debates dividing American politics. The quoted epigraph from Henry George (labor advocate) indicates the cartoon frames labor's struggle as a final, desperate stand—"the last breastwork"—against economic forces. Judge's satirical point appears critical of the conflict's intensity and the political implications of unresolved labor disputes threatening American industrial stability.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
WHAT OTHER COUNTRY PAYS SUCH WAGES AS THESE? WAGES AT HOMESTEAD, PA. PROPOSED 1892-93 SCALE. saat 119-INCH PLATE MILL. masores, EARNINGS. 32-INCH SLABBING MILL. pose 8 Hours. aol HEATER . ‘3 7 .° . $667 Rotter. 3 53 ‘ + $8 20 SCREWMAN . i re 641 SCREWMAN . « 5 # 645 HEATER, FIRST HELPER, «+ 475 TABLEMAN . ie 5 : - 46 CRANEMAN . x < é 206 HOOKER . ‘ . 5 ‘ 4u ROLL ENGINEER’ . . . 324 SHEARMAN, FIRST . . . 645 ROLL TABLEMAN . . fi 2 47 SHEARMAN, SECOND 3, . 4 69 STAMPER . . . . » 206 LEADER . . . . + 352 SHEARMAN” . & « * 400 HEATER . * 1 « * 6 45 SHEAR TABLEMAN 227 Thank God THE LAST BREAS “Than! od! at last what we have struggled for and waited for has come t tical partie: TO FACE WITH THE LAST BREASTWORK !"—Henry George, in the Standard. eto pass, “and'thetwo great; politi: ui * comicbooks.com