Judge — April 21, 1894 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This is a satirical cartoon from *Judge* magazine depicting what appears to be a nursery rhyme reference—"There Was an Old Lady (Who Swallowed a Fly)." The figure on the right, rendered as a large authority figure (likely representing the government or a political body), looms over smaller figures labeled with various economic and social problems: "Class Income Tax," "Trade," "Commerce," and other regulatory issues. The caricatured smaller figures appear to be political actors or institutions scrambling beneath this towering presence. The satire suggests that government has accumulated too many problematic "children" or policies, criticizing governmental overreach or mismanagement of economic matters. The style and labeling indicate this targets Gilded Age or Progressive Era economic regulation debates.