Judge — November 15, 1902 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This 1902 *Judge* cartoon satirizes Democratic Party leadership during the Theodore Roosevelt presidency. A figure labeled "Democratic Leader Hill" (likely referring to David B. Hill, a prominent New York Democrat) attempts to persuade a working man—depicted as poor and hungry, sitting beside "The Full Dinner Pail"—to return the Democratic party to power in the 1904 election. The satire's point: the cartoon mocks the Democratic leader's hollow appeal to voters. The "dinner pail" references the Republican slogan promising prosperity under Republican rule. The working man's skeptical posture and Hill's unconvincing gesture suggest Democrats lack credible arguments to win back power from the popular Roosevelt administration. The title "You Can't Fool T[hem]" (cut off) emphasizes voters won't be deceived by empty political rhetoric.