Judge — January 20, 1894 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon criticizes the Wilson administration's tariff policy. A well-dressed aristocratic figure (representing wealthy interests) displays a scroll listing the Wilson Bill's supposed consequences: lower wages, less work, goods manufactured abroad, more imports, and longer working hours. Meanwhile, working-class Americans sit in a boat labeled "American Workingman," surrounded by food packages and goods, appearing impoverished despite abundance. The caption's incomplete text suggests irony about "evening things up"—the cartoon argues that Democratic policies claiming to help workers actually harm them through reduced wages and employment while benefiting foreign manufacturers. The satire attacks the contradiction between the administration's charitable rhetoric toward labor and the actual economic consequences of their tariff legislation.