Judge, 1904-11-12 · page 16 of 16
Judge — November 12, 1904 — page 16: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This page satirizes the early automobile's disruptive impact on rural American life. The top panels show farmers discussing automobiles with concern—one depicts a wrecked car, another shows a "speed alarm" device. The middle section shows farmers complaining about needing good roads for town elections, while simultaneously the autos are destroying those very roads. The bottom, larger cartoon depicts the climax: a chaotic scene of automobiles bucking wildly like untamed horses, with people being thrown about. The caption jokes that Buffalo Bill's Wild West show will soon feature "busting a bucking auto" like a rodeo bronco—treating automobiles as dangerous, uncontrollable beasts rather than progress. The satire's point: despite farmers' practical needs for improved roads, automobiles represent chaos and danger to rural communities accustomed to horse-drawn transport. The humor mocks both the auto's unpredictability and rural resistance to this new technology.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
The farm 7 : Tmyaned era along the New Jerse adjunct to their farms, Rune—" When taown election comes raound we must fight tooth an’ nail fer good roads.”” Hinaa—"Thet’s what's what, Rabe; an’ we'll git ‘em, too!” The fature attraction at Hatfalo Bill's wild-west show will be the busting of a “bucking auto” by the weavers urusico-busters, SINCE THE AUTO HAS COME TO STAY. comicbooks.com