Judge — May 24, 1919 — page 11: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This political cartoon from *Judge* magazine uses multiple satirical panels to criticize early 1920s American anxieties about Bolshevism and labor unrest. The top panels show American labor (depicted as a worker) defeating Bolshevism (represented as a serpent), while "Hays" (appears to be a political figure) waits with the 1924 Presidential Nomination—suggesting labor's support is being courted. The center depicts steamship lines with cargo flowing to/from Europe—addressing fears about foreign communist influence infiltrating America through trade and immigration. The bottom section mocks the strained relationship between business and government as juggling act, with a hanging gallows labeled "the best and only cure for Bolshevism," darkly suggesting violent anti-communist sentiment. Overall, the cartoon satirizes how American elites weaponize anti-Bolshevism rhetoric while ignoring deeper economic problems causing labor unrest.