Judge — February 2, 1901 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This two-panel Irish-immigrant satire lampoons a working-class man injured by a trolley car. In the upper panel, "Leary" has already suffered physical damages from being hit by the vehicle but cynically plans to sue the company not for his injuries—but for repair costs, suggesting he's badly broken and needs fixing like damaged property. The lower panel (titled "Before He Took the Job") shows a barber shop scene where a prospective employee negotiates wages with his boss, asking whether payment will be by daily wages or contract work—a common labor dispute of the era. The joke connects both panels: the working man is so accustomed to exploitation and meager compensation that he treats his own mangled body as merely another negotiation point, viewing himself as damaged goods requiring repair rather than a person deserving proper compensation for injury.