Life, 1911-11-30 · page 12 of 40
Life — November 30, 1911 — page 12: what you’re looking at
What you’re looking at
This cartoon satirizes the jury selection process in what appears to be a high-profile trial (the text references the "McNamara trial"). The tall figure in Uncle Sam-style clothing points dismissively at a bathtub, while a small child looks on. The "bathtub trust" likely refers to unsafe bathtub manufacturing or design—a contemporary consumer safety scandal. The satire critiques how jury selection systematically excludes intelligent, opinionated citizens, leaving only the most naive or uninformed ("the twelve stupidest men in the county," as the text notes). The bathtub becomes a symbol of how poorly-informed juries fail to protect public safety, making them tools rather than guardians of justice.
📄 Transcribed text from this page (OCR, searchable)
Machine-transcribed from the original scan — historical spelling and the odd misread are preserved.
Jury Trial UDGING from the McNamara trial, the process of selecting a jury to try an important case seems to be about as follows: First, all the intelli- gent men on the panel get excused on one pretext or another. Then, each remaining talesman is subjected to an exhaustive examination to find out if EXIT BATHTUB TRUST he has any opinions or convictions upon either side of any question what- soever. If it appears that he has, he is promptly excluded. Of course, no one doubts the essentially sacred nature of trial by jury. But, cannot this particu- lar palladium of our liberties be made less cumbersome and expensive? Can- not our lawyers devise some simpler, speedier and cheaper method of get- ting into the jury box the twelve stu- pidest men in the county? It must be admitted that the present system ac: complishes this result with almost ab- solute certainty; but it costs too much. RS, MALAPROP: “No, I never was strong on literature. To save my life I couldn't tell you who wrote Gray's Elegy.” comicbooksearn