Judge — March 4, 1916 — page 1: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Piker!" - Judge Magazine, March 4, 1916 This cartoon depicts a well-dressed man in formal attire examining a woman's pregnant belly, labeled "PIKER!" beneath them. The title suggests mockery or contempt. The satire likely comments on **birth rates or family size** during this period. "Piker" was slang for someone who acted cheaply or insufficiently. The cartoon appears to ridicule either: 1. A man fathering only one child (considered inadequate by early-20th-century standards emphasizing large families), or 2. Social anxieties about declining birth rates among the middle/upper classes The woman's elegant dress and the man's formal presentation suggest this targets educated, affluent Americans. The specific historical context—whether tied to immigration debates, eugenics concerns, or women's changing roles—remains unclear from the image alone.