Judge — April 9, 1904 — page 16: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

These two satirical cartoons mock social pretensions of the era: **"Only One-Third Mason"** (top): A drunk candidate for Freemasonry is shown staggering and disheveled. His wife scolds him for joining the Masons, noting he's only completed the first degree. The joke ridicules both the candidate's drunkenness and the pomposity of fraternal organizations—he's barely accomplished the "first" of three degrees, yet already acts insufferably. **"Accounted For"** (bottom): A farmer initially insulted his neighbor's college-educated son as worthless, but now praises his work ethic upon seeing him labor. The neighbor reveals the son merely uses the work path to access his exercise equipment (punching bag and rowing machine) in the barn—he's not actually industrious, just vain about physical fitness. Both cartoons satirize American social climbing and pretension: whether joining exclusive clubs or flaunting collegiate education and modern exercise equipment, the underlying subjects are revealed as shallow or fraudulent.