Judge — May 17, 1902 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "In Hock" — Judge Magazine, May 17, 1902 This political cartoon depicts a bloated figure carrying three large weights labeled "Billions in Loans," "War Tax," and what appears to be another fiscal burden (the center sphere is labeled "War"). The figure stands between industrial landscapes, suggesting Britain's economy is being crushed by the financial costs of the Boer War (1899-1902). The title "In Hock" (meaning in debt or pawned) satirizes Britain's mounting wartime expenses. The figure appears to represent either the British nation or a political leader, staggering under the impossible weight of military spending. The cartoon critiques the economic drain of prolonged warfare and military expenditure on the national finances during this costly colonial conflict.