Judge — August 15, 1925 — page 22: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

This satirical cartoon mocks the telephone industry's supply chain and labor practices. Each panel traces components' origins—iron from Pittsburgh, steel from Homestead, coal from Scranton, platinum from the Urals, rubber from South America, and cotton from Georgia—showing how a telephone instrument relies on materials from across America and the world. The final panel's punchline exposes the hypocrisy: while the industry proudly sources materials globally and nationally, it apparently cannot find qualified telephone *operators* from these same regions. Three women sit at desks, and one complains "the line is not in use" while another says "your party does not answer." The exasperated man demands, "where, in the name of heaven, do they get the operators?!" The cartoon satirizes both the telephone company's operational incompetence and likely contemporary labor disputes or complaints about operator service quality and availability—suggesting the industry can source materials anywhere but cannot staff competently.