Judge, 1893-05-20 · page 16 of 16
Judge — May 20, 1893 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes a waiters' strike by depicting the conflict between three groups: **waiters** (striking for whiskers-wearing rights and better pay), **restaurant owners/managers** (threatening wage cuts), and **customers** (being caught in the middle). The central figure appears to be a customer saying "That's right; pound one another. You both robbed me long enough"—the joke being that ordinary diners felt victimized by *both* exploitative owners *and* waiters demanding tips. The smaller panels show the irony: a manager threatens to dock a waiter's pay for receiving tips, yet tips were supposedly the waiter's primary income. The cartoon mocks the absurdity of the entire situation—suggesting both labor and management were complicit in squeezing customers, making the public sympathetic to *neither* side of the dispute. The reference to New York waiters striking "for the right to wear whiskers" adds comic absurdity, implying the demands seemed trivial compared to legitimate wage grievances.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
—" That's right; pound one another. You both robbed me long enough.” ARANESSS - ‘ me ro a The old slot machin 7 to eet Hora: Prorsieros—" I ahall reduce your wages this ol the waiter and tips. week ficcen cents, Henry ; Lobscrved that you received that amount extra in tips.” THE STRIKE OF WAITERS. In New York the waiters are striking for the right to wear whiskers ;in Chicago and elsewhere for more pay and more liberal tips. E ie) o n x ° fo) 2 2 E ie) cs)