Judge — May 4, 1907 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon depicts a woman labeled "Prosperity" being presented to a skeptical man (likely representing the American public or voter). The man on the left appears to be a politician or businessman showing off the woman as if she's a commodity or promise. The title "Fooled Again" and the caption "we've seen that show before" suggest this is satirizing repeated political promises of economic prosperity that have failed in the past. The woman's exaggerated, caricatured features and the theatrical presentation mock the artificiality of such campaign rhetoric. The "Roosevelt Market" sign visible in the background likely dates this to Theodore Roosevelt's presidency (1901-1909) or the New Deal era under Franklin Roosevelt. The cartoon critiques cyclical political deception—suggesting voters have been promised prosperity before, only to be disappointed.