Judge — November 15, 1919 — page 10: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "The Modern Madness" by Ellison Hoover This satirical page critiques labor strikes and their consequences circa 1919. The top panel mocks strikers with "I don't care!" attitude amid destruction. The central imagery depicts "American Prosperity" as a goose being killed—the "goose that lays the golden egg"—by a striker wielding a "Strike" sign, illustrating the belief that strikes harm the economy that sustains workers. Other panels show industrial disruption and hardship. The final panels contrast two "Americans": one asks "which is the better American?"—implying strikers are unpatriotic—while the last shows a labor agitator or union organizer ("every strike he opens his mouth") as a menacing figure. The cartoons reflect anti-labor sentiment common during the 1919 strike wave, positioning strikes as economically destructive and socially dangerous.