Judge — November 30, 1907 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This Judge magazine cartoon satirizes bank failures and financial instability of the era (appears to be early 20th century). The narrative follows characters named Mike and Dinah who withdraw their savings from unsafe banks, then struggle to safely store the cash at home. The satire works on two levels: First, it mocks the panic and paranoia surrounding bank collapses—people hoarding money in makeshift containers (tomato cans, carpet bags) rather than trusting financial institutions. Second, it highlights the absurdity and dangers of keeping cash at home: the characters' money gets used as pillows, cooking implements, and fuel, or lost to theft. The caricatured figures (appearing to be working-class individuals) represent ordinary depositors caught between two bad options: unsafe banks or unsafe home storage. The cartoon criticizes both the banking system's unreliability and the desperation it forces upon common people.