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

What you’re looking at

This page contains two separate satirical cartoons exploiting ethnic stereotypes common in 1890s American humor. **Top cartoon ("An Excited Thought"):** Features Irish characters (indicated by dialect spelling: "yez," "Sorra th'") discussing a brick thrown through their window. The dark humor turns on Mr. Garrigan's relief that the brick missed their baby—because they could have had him "tented" (likely meaning compensated/insured). The satire mocks working-class Irish families and suggests casual indifference to children's safety. **Bottom cartoon ("He Was On Tap"):** Depicts a rotund German military officer interrogating a sentinel (indicated by "kernal" for colonel, "vos" for was). The punchline involves the drunk soldier's wordplay: claiming he was "on picket" when actually "(s)picket"—playing on his intoxication. The satire ridicules both German militarism and drunkenness. Both cartoons rely on exaggerated ethnic caricature and dialect humor—styles Judge used extensively to appeal to native-born American readers.