Judge — February 15, 1908 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page contains a Valentine's Day poem to St. Valentine (top) and a political cartoon below titled "The Overstock in the Match Business." The cartoon satirizes trade protectionism and tariff policy. A woman and children visit a government "Foreign Trade Dept" official, seeking help. The caption indicates they're struggling economically—the father claims he "haven't been able to dispose of this part of my family in the home market" and asks if the official can help place them in the foreign market. The satire equates children with unsold merchandise ("overstock"), mocking how protectionist policies supposedly benefit families while actually making them economically desperate. The "match business" likely references matchmaking or marriage markets, suggesting families are treated as commercial goods when trade restrictions limit legitimate economic opportunity. This appears critical of isolationist trade policy's unintended consequences on working families.