Judge — November 1936 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# Analysis of "Judge" Cartoon Page This page depicts an Egyptian construction scene, likely referencing pyramid-building. The foreground shows Egyptian figures in traditional dress (including what appears to be pharaohs or nobles in elaborate headdresses) observing enslaved workers hauling massive stone blocks and logs. The caption reads: "Humph! Just some more boondoggling!" "Boondoggling" was 1930s slang for wasteful government spending on make-work projects. This cartoon satirizes New Deal programs (likely WPA or similar relief initiatives) by comparing them to ancient Egyptian slave labor—suggesting such public works are pointless, wasteful, and exploitative. The joke equates Depression-era relief efforts with inefficient, tyrannical practices, criticizing government intervention in the economy during Franklin Roosevelt's administration.