Judge — December 8, 1917 — page 3: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Cartoon Analysis This cartoon depicts two military officers in what appears to be a World War I-era setting (based on their uniforms and the taxi visible in the background). One officer, standing on the left, questions the other about a "service flag on a taxi," expressing surprise that the vehicle "has two cylinders in service." The joke plays on the double meaning of "service": the patriotic service flags displayed during WWI to indicate family members in military service, versus an automobile's mechanical cylinders. The humor mocks either the absurdity of putting a service flag on a civilian taxi, or satirizes overzealous patriotic displays. The cartoon criticizes what it suggests is misplaced or excessive wartime flag-waving among civilians, particularly regarding ordinary commercial vehicles.