Life — March 3, 1921 — page 9: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "Officer Reilly: What's the use of a plug hat, anyway?" This cartoon, drawn by J.R. Shaver, depicts a police officer (Officer Reilly, identified by name in the caption) standing among children playing in snow. The joke plays on the contrast between the officer's formal attire—specifically his "plug hat" (a tall formal top hat)—and the practical reality of his job managing street children in winter conditions. The humor lies in the officer questioning the usefulness of his formal uniform hat when dealing with messy, snow-covered street situations. It's gentle satire about the disconnect between official police dress codes and the actual, unglamorous work of urban law enforcement, particularly involving poor children in city neighborhoods.