Judge — February 7, 1920 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis This is a satirical cartoon depicting "The Bolsheviki Start Their Propaganda at Yapp's Crossing" — a chaotic street scene with numerous figures engaged in various activities around storefronts. The cartoon appears to mock Bolshevik (Soviet communist) revolutionary agitation and propaganda efforts. The scene shows crowds of people, some fighting or scuffling, others gesturing dramatically, with visible shop signs including "Lee Tripps Beanery" and "Horace Sigmund's Elite Grocery." The composition suggests disorder and social disruption. This likely dates from the Red Scare period (1917-1920s) when American media frequently satirized communist/Bolshevik activities as dangerous foreign agitation threatening American stability and commerce. The cartoon ridicules Bolshevik "propaganda" by depicting it causing public mayhem and street violence in an ordinary American commercial district.