Judge — August 14, 1897 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page presents satirical cartoons criticizing what the cartoonist views as Mother Nature's poor design of humanity. The top cartoon mocks poor agricultural workers ("spinach-pickers") as physically deformed, suggesting Nature should have given them better bodies for their laborious work. The middle cartoon depicts a figure climbing a pole toward the sun, apparently critiquing how humans lack useful animal appendages (tails, wings) that could improve survival or labor. The bottom cartoon suggests Mother Nature bungled human facial design—people's appearances don't match their dispositions or character. The final panel shows figures appearing to riot or rebel, captioned that a "monkey-tail would prove an indispensable adjunct to our metropolitan police," sarcastically implying even police need evolutionary improvements. Overall, the page uses pseudo-Darwinian humor to mock both human imperfection and social inequality in early 20th-century America.