Judge — March 3, 1917 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "If Nothing Ever Went Wrong" This satirical cartoon depicts an idealized urban fantasy where social problems have vanished. The street scene shows businesses thriving—a "Free Restaurant" offering food without charge, a "Free Home for Jobless & Indigent," an "Always a Rising Market," and "War Supplies" shop standing open rather than closed. The satire critiques economic inequality and systemic failures of the era (likely post-WWI or 1920s). By presenting these impossibilities—free housing, perpetually rising markets, abundant jobs—as a contrasting utopia, the cartoon highlights the actual deprivation and desperation of the period. Homeless people, unemployed workers, and struggling families inhabit the streets, emphasizing the gap between this imagined paradise and grim reality.