Judge — March 8, 1919 — page 3: what you’re looking at

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# Analysis of Judge Magazine Cover, March 8, 1919 This satirical illustration references **Prohibition**, which was ratified in January 1919 and took effect in 1920. The cartoon depicts "The Bone Dry Co." exhibiting a novelty automobile called "The Water Wagon" at the National Auto Show—a play on the idiom "on the water wagon" (meaning abstinent from alcohol). The caricatured figure appears to be **Uncle Sam**, presenting this vehicle as America's new future under Prohibition. The crowded spectators represent the American public witnessing this enforced sobriety. The satire mocks Prohibition supporters' optimism about the coming alcohol ban, treating mandatory abstinence as something to be publicly celebrated and mechanized like industrial progress. The cartoon captures contemporary skepticism about whether Americans would actually embrace this dramatic lifestyle change.