Judge, 1894-01-27 · page 1 of 16
Judge — January 27, 1894 — page 1: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes regional economic disparities in 1890s America. The caption references a "bicycle built for two" while discussing tariffs on raw materials from southern states versus finished goods from the north. The image shows two men on a bicycle: a well-dressed northern figure pedaling while a ragged southern farmer provides weight but doesn't propel the vehicle. A third figure (possibly representing labor or the common man) stands aside, excluded. The satire criticizes how protective tariffs benefited northern manufacturers while southern agricultural producers bore the burden—they supplied raw materials but couldn't compete with northern industrial finished goods. The "bicycle built for two" metaphor suggests an unequal partnership where the South does work without receiving proportional benefit. The excluded third party represents those harmed by this arrangement.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
VOL. 26 NO.641 JANUARY 27 1894 A BICYCLE BUILT FOR TWO. “* One would suppose that clay was about as ‘ raw’ a material as could be imagined _Yet, while putting the clays of New Jersey on the free list, you impose a duty of two dollars a ton on the clays of Florida, Georgia and other southern states. One would suppose that hoop-iron would be the same. regardless of the uses to which itis applied. Not so. On the farmer's bucket it is taxed, around the planter’s cotton it is free. Washed wool and washed clay ought to hold the same place in Democratic philosophy. Yet the wool of the northern farmer is ‘raw material,’ while the washed clay in the hands of the southern producer is a highly-finished product. "—CoNGRessMAN BuRRows, January gth : comicbooks.com |