Judge — February 1, 1913 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This cartoon satirizes traffic safety and power dynamics on roads. It depicts a hierarchical "food chain" of vehicles: at the top, a steam locomotive dominates; below it, a streetcar; then an automobile with a wealthy-looking driver; then a motorcycle rider; and finally pedestrians (appearing to be workers or common people) at the bottom, being crushed underfoot. The title "Where Might Is Right of Way" criticizes how larger, more powerful vehicles—and by extension, wealthier vehicle owners—literally run over smaller road users and pedestrians with impunity. The cartoon suggests that traffic rules favor the powerful while the vulnerable (workers, pedestrians) have no protection. It's a commentary on Gilded Age inequality, where economic power translated into literal physical danger for working-class citizens.