Judge — March 25, 1911 — page 6: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This page satirizes railroad industry pressures and corporate hypocrisy during the Progressive Era. **Top panel**: A figure (representing the railroad industry) holds a baseball labeled "Base Ball Season 1911," suggesting the sport's popularity. The Judge (representing public opinion/justice) praises him for the "enemies you have made"—corporations despised by reformers. **Middle panel**: The railroad president faces contradictory demands: the public demands wage increases and better service; stockholders demand no rate increases; the Inter-State Commerce Commission restricts rate hikes. The cartoonist satirizes the impossible position of pleasing all stakeholders while maintaining profits. **Bottom panels**: One shows a farmhand ("flunkey") noting times have changed—likely referencing the shift in power dynamics. The final image depicts the railroad industry as merely "a bubble," suggesting its economic foundation is unstable or illusory. The overall message: railroads face unsustainable pressure from competing interests and lack genuine solutions.