Judge — October 13, 1894 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Judge Magazine, October 13, 1894 This political cartoon depicts a figure writing "IS SUICIDE A SIN?" on a wall in a graveyard setting, with a coffin labeled "MURDERED BY POVERTY" visible below. The caption notes "With apologies to Mexico." The satire appears to address poverty-driven desperation and suicide as a social problem in 1894 America. The religious question posed suggests debate about whether suicide—often seen as driven by economic despair rather than moral failing—constitutes sin. The reference to Mexico likely alludes to American foreign policy or economic conditions affecting Mexican-American relations during this period. The cartoon critiques how poverty forces people toward self-destruction while simultaneously questioning moral judgments about their choices. This reflects late-19th-century Progressive Era concerns about industrial poverty and labor conditions.