Judge — December 30, 1911 — page 14: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes wage cuts during economic hardship. Two silhouetted figures are posting a notice announcing a 10% wage reduction, attributed to "unsettled conditions." The caption "An Old Sign of the Times!" suggests this was a familiar occurrence—employers using economic uncertainty to justify cutting workers' pay. The subtitle notes the cartoon was "suggested to Judge by an automobile manufacturer employing over 10,000 men," indicating this depicted an actual contemporary practice by a major industrial employer. The satire works on two levels: it mocks both the vague corporate language ("unsettled conditions") used to justify cuts and the regularity with which such notices appeared. For modern readers, this reflects early-to-mid 20th century labor tensions before strong unions and wage protections existed, when employers could unilaterally reduce pay with minimal worker recourse.