Judge — October 17, 1903 — page 5: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes the hiring of domestic servants by playing on a joke about criminal records. A well-dressed man and woman are depicted—apparently interviewing or discussing a valet's qualifications. The humor hinges on the caption: when asked if the valet had a good reference from his previous employer, the response is that "the judge gave him two months off for good behavior"—implying the valet served jail time. The joke inverts expectations: instead of a traditional employment reference, the "reference" is actually a prison sentence reduction for good conduct. This mocks both the desperation of wealthy households to find reliable servants and the casual acceptance of hiring those with criminal pasts, suggesting such practices were common enough to warrant satirical commentary in early 20th-century America.