Judge — November 30, 1901 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1904 *Judge* cartoon satirizes American imperialist expansion. The vultures represent the U.S. and its allies, identified by labels including "Baltimore," "Newark," and what appears to be "Josiah Quincy" (a Massachusetts politician). They're depicted as predatory birds circling emaciated, frightened figures labeled as foreign nations or territories—the "thin birds" mentioned in the caption. The satire mocks American political leaders who view distant peoples as resources to "fatten and gather in" for national profit, comparing imperial ambitions to fattening livestock for slaughter. The 1904 dating references Theodore Roosevelt's presidency and America's active imperial period, including control of the Philippines and Caribbean territories. The cartoon critiques this exploitation as morally equivalent to vultures preying on the weak.